


It's getting haught in herrrrrr

by Consuela_Banana



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV), wayhaught - Fandom
Genre: Bi-Curiosity, Dating, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Humor, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Sex, Never Ending, Purgatory, Relationship(s), Sexytime, Shower Sex, Wayhaught - Freeform, Wtf am I doing, same sex, wynonna earp - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-19 16:58:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 55,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8217968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Consuela_Banana/pseuds/Consuela_Banana
Summary: What was a short story and now seemingly my life's work; imagining the Wayhaught kiss in Nedley's office hadn't quite happened yet, but instead Waverly and Officer Haught decide to go on a date. They clearly have feelings for each other, but how deep do they run?This starts after Haught winds up in the hospital looking all sorry for herself. Waverly has given Champ the boot by this point (cries of joy as Earpers unite).





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Starts slow but gathers pace fairly quickly towards the end! Another time I'll do a real slow burn.
> 
> Edit: So I've decided to make it a bit longer than a short story. I'm at peace with it, hope you are too.

The sun had set on Purgatory and Shorty’s happy hour had commenced. The saloon bar had slowly starting to fill with regulars, not least Sheriff Nedley who had been sat near the bar for the last hour or so. The jukebox was barely discernible above the rowdy chat of Shorty’s patrons, interspersed with the frequent clinking of glasses and beer jugs hitting wooden worktops.

Waverly absent-mindedly wiped down the bar as she always did. It was a familiar shift, and one she could do with her eyes closed. She couldn’t wait for this shift to be over, so she could go home, be alone and not be under the watchful gaze of the townsfolk. Once an Earp, always an Earp, and unfortunately in this place the locals didn’t waver in their fascination of Earps. Waverly stared off into the distance in a daydream, having not noticed one of the locals who had approached the bar behind her for a refill, trying to get her attention.

“Missy?”

Waverly continued to rub down the bar robotically, having not heard a word he’d said. She was miles away.

“Hey missy? How ‘bout a refill over here? If you’ve got the time?” The grizzly local repeated in a louder tone.

Waverly caught onto this louder tone, and shook her head slightly in order to snap out of her daze. “Sure, sorry” she apologised, moving across to the slightly round and weather-beaten local who had placed his jug on the well wiped bar top. “Same again?”

“Yup”

Waverly drew the tap downwards to refill the jug. She didn’t know it, but half of the bar was watching her technique. Before now, Shorty himself would have scolded the drinkers who eyed Waverly a little too much. She never dressed provocatively but women were in short supply in Purgatory, and they didn’t come much cuter than her.

“Here you go, Clovis” Waverly half-smiled, pushing the now-full jug across the bar to him. She only just took in Clovis’ mumbled attempt at a thank you because her eyes diverted behind him, across the saloon, and into focus. The door had creaked open and no-one had taken any notice of who walked in. Not least any of the townsfolk, because no-one was the least bit interested in the newest rookie cop in town. But Waverly had noticed.

Officer Haught was relatively new to town and had already experienced strange goings-on across Purgatory. Her training at the academy had gone well and Purgatory was her first permanent post, taking her away from her family and small group of friends across the country. She was used to the small town mentality but this place was a different kettle of fish completely – yet no-one seemed to be in a hurry to explain things to her. Since Haught had arrived in Purgatory, she had already seen enough to make her question her own sanity, and how on earth the Sheriff and other deputies had not noticed the bizarre behaviour of some of the locals was just unfathomable. The majority of these strange events seem to revolve around the Earp family, and their homestead just a mile or so from the station in town.

Officer Haught cocked her head slightly and removed her Stetson, clutching at the brim as she cast her eyes around the bar, which was starting to fill with happy hour. Haught’s shift had actually ended but she was never off duty in a town such as this, such were the lines blurred. She moved down the steps by the doorway and continued to look around the bar, the heels on her boots clicking on every step, taking in what was going on before she committed to a location.

Waverly had noticed Nicole Haught sneak into the bar almost immediately. It was hard not to notice – the officer’s police uniform a stark contrast to the denims and oily flannel shirts of the locals who were scattered around the saloon. Plus many of the patrons of Shorty’s didn’t bother to take their hats off as they entered the premises, which, in Waverly’s book, was not entirely gentlemanly. No, when Nicole came in, she took her hat off straight away. “I like that,” Waverly thought to herself.

Waverly pretended she hadn’t seen Officer Haught walk into the bar and Haught pretended she hadn’t seen Waverly. Which was actually so far from the truth it was just as ridiculous as the recent supernatural happenings which had littered Haught’s career in Purgatory thus far. Haught checked her hair braid wasn’t coming out at the back and headed towards the bar, straightening out her standard issue black shirt as she went.

“Officer Haught,” Waverly looked up at her, “what an unexpected surprise! What can I get you?”

Haught placed her Stetson on the overly-clean bar top. “Hello Waverly,” she smiled, her cheeks dimpled slightly, “Just a coffee please? I know it’s happy hour and all but…”

“Happy in the loosest sense on the word,” Waverly interrupted her, under her breath and with eyebrows raised.

Haught drew a barstool and sat down in front of Waverly, looking knowingly. “Right.”

“Coffee shouldn’t be a problem. How’d you take it?” Waverly asked, half-turning as she moved away from the bar and towards the under-used coffee machine she had convinced Shorty to purchase only a few months earlier.

“As it comes” Haught replied, raising her voice slightly so that Waverly wouldn’t need to ask her to repeat. Waverly nodded to indicate she’d heard, and Haught began to look around the bar, which was force of habit. A good cop is never off-duty, her academy drill instructor had told her several months earlier. But this latest shift, a double header, had just about drained Nicole Haught of all her energy. She had finished her last call-out just up the road at the hardware store and decided to stop off at Shorty’s before heading home. Haught rubbed her temples tiredly, her long elegant fingers turning circles.

Waverly waited for the coffee machine to splutter to its end. She’d placed the coffee cup delicately under the machine and had looked across to the flame-haired cop who was sat across the bar to her, as she’d often done before now. Waverly noted Nicole still had the slight dressing above her left eye from her hospital stitches from a week or so ago – she thought they’d be out by now. Seeing Nicole all busted up in the hospital room gave her an ache in her heart she hadn’t felt for a long time, but it came at a time which was so confusing given Wynonna’s abduction. She’d felt pangs of guilt for feeling so many things for Nicole, when her big sister could have been hurt, or much worse. Waverly was just so glad she had both of them back.

“One…” Waverly settled the cup gently in front of the young police officer, “….coffee.” She stood back looking rather pleased with herself.

“Lifesaver.” Nicole winked back. Waverly’s cheeks flushed a little and she looked at the ground. She composed herself just enough to reply.

“So, officer, what brings you here? Obviously apart from the delicious coffee?”

Nicole took an ill-judged sip from the steaming-hot cup, wincing at the heat of the freshly brewed coffee within. “Wow. That was hot. And please, call me Nicole. You know me well enough now” She said with a smile.

Waverly beamed back. “I know, silly, I’m just having some fun.” She playfully attempted to punch Nicole on the shoulder but pulled away at the last second, making it more an air-swipe of affection. Nicole liked the attempt.

“Well, I came to see if you wanted to go out?” The officer enquired.

The bar was buzzing with inebriated residents of Purgatory, but Waverly didn’t hear one of them, as everything seemed to dim in comparison whilst she stared back into Nicole’s brown eyes. “Hmm?” Was all she could retort.

“You know,” Nicole’s voice hushed and she looked from side to side, ducking her head under the light above the bar and leaning forward “Out? Somewhere?”

Waverly took a towel out from her half-apron and grabbed a glass from underneath the bar. She began polishing frantically, a quizzical look creeping across her brow. She hadn’t answered Nicole yet.

Nicole looked a little stung. “Or…….. not.” She leaned back on her stool and looked into her coffee cup. Waverly realised she hadn’t replied and gathered herself.

“Um, right. Out. With…. you. You and me? Out. Me and you, out. Somewhere.”

Nicole fixed her gaze on Waverly whilst reaching for her Stetson, rising from her seat at the same time. Perhaps she’d got this wrong this time, she felt, so maybe she should take her leave.

“Yep, but it’s not sounding promising so maybe I should –“

Waverly reached quickly out across the bar, delicately grabbing Nicole by the wrist. She surprised herself by her keenness not to let Nicole leave just yet, Nicole too seemed surprised by Waverly holding onto her wrist across the bar, and not letting it go quite as soon as she should. They both looked down and Waverly released her soft grip.

“I’ll take that as a yes, Waverly?” Nicole raised an eyebrow.

Waverly didn’t know where to look. She didn’t know where to look because she didn’t know what she was doing. Only a couple of weeks ago she had given Champ his marching orders because, well, it was long overdue. Pickings were slim locally and for a long time, Champ would do. He would more than do at first, in fact, he was a pretty good boyfriend. But over time, the relationship lost the little intimacy it had, and as they grew a little older, Waverly grew a little wiser. Waverly began to realise this just around the time that Officer Haught arrived in town. All of a sudden, the pickings in Purgatory didn’t seem to be that slim.

Waverly began to reply but before a word could come out, Shorty hollered at her from across the bar.

“Waverly! Are you serving or what?”

She suddenly became aware there were waiting customers, who equally were completely unaware of the nature of the dialogue between the two young women at the bar. Waverly grimaced at Shorty apologetically and turned on her heel to start towards the waiting thirsty patrons. Nicole realised she had taken up too much of Waverly’s attention and flashed an apologetic yet pretty smile across to her. Waverly’s heart melted a little in the middle of the chaos of Shorty’s. Nicole decided to quit whilst she was ahead, and attempted to drink the remainder of the coffee whilst sliding some dollar bills across the bar at the same time.

Waverly held a solitary finger up to the couple of locals waiting to be served in a ‘I’ll be right with you’ kind of a way, and leant hurriedly across the bar towards Nicole. “So, where are we going, and when are we going? Girl’s gotta plan y’know?”

Nicole reciprocated by leaning back across the bar in close proximity to Waverly’s face.

“Tomorrow night. 7.30. I’ll pick you up.”

With that, Officer Haught drew away from the bar, arranged her Stetson back on her head, adjusted her belt and headed towards the door. But before she got there she shot a look back at the bar to see if Waverly was still watching. Waverly never took her eyes off Nicole Haught the whole time, until the door closed behind her, and only then did she turn away when Shorty yelled at her to hit the taps.

 

7.30 could not come quick enough, and to Nicole it had seemed like the day had gone on forever. It was her day off, and Nicole had made the time pass by sleeping in until 10, which could have been longer had her cat not purred her into submission for breakfast. She’d tidied her modest condo, which was sparsely furnished at the best of times, done a batch of laundry, and neatly folded and tidied away her clothes. It didn’t stop her checking her watch every 15 minutes or so, to see if hours had passed and it was in fact time to go and pick up Waverly. Just the thought of seeing the youngest Earp gave Nicole butterflies in her stomach, and she couldn’t believe she would have her all to herself tonight. Nicole had hoped for this possibility the moment she’d stepped inside Shorty’s bar a couple of months ago. She’d heard of Waverly Earp - contrasting stories – but needed to see the enigma for herself, which drove Nicole to pay the bar a visit for the first time. Waverly was a vision, and Nicole could have kicked herself for allowing herself to fall quite so quickly for someone local in her first job.

Time ticked on and eventually the clock hands found themselves at 5.00pm. Nicole allowed herself to begin preparations. First: shower. The young police officer drifted into a daydream as the hot water ran off her body as she cleansed, and steam enveloped her small bathroom. She allowed her mind to wander. How would two people ever fit in this shower, should that opportunity present itself?

Nicole showered and dressed, getting changed into a smart top, slim dark blue jeans and long tan boots, before putting her hair up and into a cute quiff. Nicole danced her fingers over her small collection of toiletries and selected her favourite perfume – her only perfume – and sprayed it into the delicate recess of her collarbone, her pulse points and into her hair. She’d already fixed her make up; yes, Nicole was ready to go.

The patrol car crunched up the approach to the Earp homestead. It was 7.40. By the time it came for Nicole to leave, she’d nervously checked her make up in the hallway mirror and then checked again, and now she was late. Nicole could just make out a twitch of a curtain at the front of the residence as she drove closer to the house, eventually parking up and putting on the handbrake. She took one last look in the mirror, before she hopped out of the driver’s seat and in the direction of the Earp’s front door. Nicole drew her right hand across her body to knock but the door opened before she could. Waverly.

“Late.” Waverly said steadfastly, opening the door suddenly.

Nicole looked back at her patrol car and then back at Waverly. “Yep, looks that way. Sorry.”

Waverly wanted to try and keep up the pretence that she was mad, but she remembered how much she’d been looking forward to seeing Nicole again so that the ruse faded quickly. Waverly stood in the doorway, the door half open but not in an overtly inviting way.

“Mmm. Shall we go?” Waverly said, her voice raising slightly towards the end of the sentence.

Nicole didn’t expect to be invited inside, but she also wouldn’t have minded if she was, now she was here. Maybe Wynonna had Doc inside. Alright then, Waverly wanted to head on out now she had finally arrived, Nicole got the hint. She looked down at her boots coyly and then back to Waverly’s gaze. “Sure thing.”

Waverly closed the door behind her and the pair walked over to the cruiser. It was cold and Waverly crossed her arms in front of her chest with a ‘brrr’ shake of the head.

“Actually, where is it we’re going?”

“Not far”

Nicole casually opened the door for her young companion and the two young women climbed into the warm patrol car. Once it had turned around in the front yard, they headed out into town.

 

“Shorty’s? You brought me to Shorty’s?”

Waverly looked across in disbelief at her friend, who had taken them right outside the bar. “Are you kidding me?”

Nicole laughed nervously, raising her eyebrows. “I honestly thought this wouldn’t be a problem!” She protested. “My options were limited…. it was pretty much this or the station, and I know you wouldn’t want to share a cell with who we’ve got in there at the moment.”

Waverly moved close to Nicole so that she could talk in a whisper, her arms folded back across her chest defiantly, “Nicole,” she started, “I – I just don’t know that this is a good idea. What will people think…?” Her voice tailed off.

The auburn police officer stepped back. “What will people think?” She scowled. Nicole couldn’t believe what she was hearing, and it hurt her. She’d hoped both her and Waverly were on the same wavelength and they could finally have some alone time. Alright, perhaps Shorty’s was a poor choice but she wasn’t lying just now – Purgatory’s options for nightlife were severely limited. And anyway, Nicole wasn’t about to drive them into the next town, which was over an hour away, as more than anything, boy she needed a drink to calm her nerves.

Waverly could see Nicole was upset at her protest, and she felt instantly guilty. It was still a natural feeling for her to be anxious about what the townsfolk would think about two women being together ‘that way’, and she’d already had a lifetime’s worth of being the number one subject of gossip. But now she’d made Nicole feel uncomfortable and that wasn’t intended. She reached down to take the officer’s hand in her own. Nicole looked down and felt Waverly’s warm, soft hand in hers, and looked up into her blue-grey eyes, which were looking intently back in return.

“Nicole,” Waverly mustered, “let’s go inside. It’s getting cold.”

Officer Haught allowed their hands to drop back to their sides as they entered the saloon and into the dim yellow light of the bar. The familiar smokey haze sat across the top of the room like a fog, and Purgatory’s regulars were dotted around on barstools and at tables. Waverly’s eyes darted across to who was serving behind the bar; it was Anthony, a young guy from across town who sometimes helped Shorty out when Shorty had sampled too many of his own bar’s offerings.

Nicole headed towards a booth in the corner of the bar, which could easily be considered Shorty’s most plush place to sit. Generally the usual patrons of the bar wouldn’t sit in the far corners as it was that bit further to stagger to get served, so the two women knew they would have some element of privacy in their corner table. Nicole let Waverly sit down before she headed over to Anthony at the bar to order some food, and the drinks the two women desperately needed to calm their nerves.

Once they were a couple of drinks in, and Anthony had helpfully cleared away the baskets their food had arrived in, both Waverly and Nicole dusted down their fronts, then laps, then dabbed at their mouths. They giggled at one another at their similar ritual. Waverly seemed to check herself for a moment, before swiftly bringing her beer bottle up to her lips and took a swig. They’d chatted easily the whole journey from the homestead right through until now, about all manner of things. Waverley was, by nature, extremely chatty, and there never seemed to be a pause for breath. Nicole liked that about her, in amongst everything else she liked about the petite brunette. The conversation paused for a moment.

“You, er, haven’t said if I look OK tonight?” Nicole asked, playfully. She knew she’d never get an outright, without-prompted compliment from the nervy looking girl opposite, so she just went for it.

“Oh wow,” Waverly was taken aback with how forward it was, “well I wanted to say something earlier…”

“So say it now” Nicole interjected, her voice tinged with intensity.

Waverly took another swig on her beer to buy herself some time. She’d known the officer had been pursuing her since the day she showed up unexpectedly in Shorty’s bar, it had been so obvious. But Waverly was so unprepared for her own reciprocal feelings and had tried hard to fight the yearning to know Nicole better; she’d wanted to know her better in a friendly way at first, ‘you know, emotionally,’ she had thought, and now it had dawned on her, physically too.

Nicole could see Waverly’s cheeks turn a little pink, so she reached across the table, offering her hand. She didn’t want to push Waverly if she wasn’t there yet, she didn’t want her to be someone she wasn’t ready to be. “Wave, I’m just kidding.”

Waverly, having steeled herself, now did not hesitate, and leant across toward her date.

“I’ve never quite understood what people meant when they say breathtaking. I mean, really, breathtaking. You’re essentially saying you're losing your ability to breathe when you look at someone, right?”

Nicole stared back at her, not daring to answer the rhetorical question. Waverly continued.

“You…. are…..” she paused, “well, I lost the ability to breathe. A while back.”

Waverly leant back against the red cushioned booth, and took another chug on her near-empty bottle of beer. Job done. She’d said it. “Holy Jesus” she thought.

The officer opposite her was motionless; arm still outstretched across the table as she had forgotten to retract it, in amongst Waverly’s surprising yet mesmerising admission. In fact, Nicole didn’t speak for a good minute.

The two women continued to look at one another. Waverly sensed the silence needed to be broken.

“I mean, you’re alright.”

“Did she really just say that?” the officer thought to herself, dreamily. Nicole snapped herself out of her stupor. She’d left her hand out across the table, hoping the pretty young thing opposite her would take the hint, but she turned her hand so her palm faced down onto the table. Waverly was still leant back against the booth’s cushioned wall. She leant forward and ducked under the pendant light that separated them across the table.

“Officer?”

Nicole never wanted to put someone in handcuffs so badly after hearing her name being called as she did right now.

“Waverly?”

“A-And me?” Waverly suddenly got bold.

Nicole’s outstretched arm was still there, her hand waiting to be touched. Nicole had previously been in relationships, with men and women, but rarely before had she felt the twinges of excitement she felt when she’d brushed against the youngest Earp. Waverly too, had never experienced the turns in her stomach when her skin had come into contact with the officer, and she’d soon found herself dreaming up excuses to be near to her in case they ‘accidentally’ touched. For weeks they had been casting adoring glances at one another and both coincidentally finding ways to be near to one another, whether it was here, the station, or anywhere in town. This was more than friendship, they had both felt several weeks ago, and the evening was manifesting itself into their next chapter.

Waverly drew an intake of breath and slowly yet softly placed her right hand across Nicole’s, so that the officer’s palm turned upwards again and their fingers met. Waverley felt butterflies in her stomach.

Nicole’s eyes danced down to see their hands holding across the table, and they returned to Waverly’s gaze. She took her opportunity. “You know what I think?”

The silence in that half a moment was deafening. She continued.

“How you look tonight? How you look is… well, I’ll come back to y’all on that in just one second. You wanna know what I think about you, Waverly Earp?”

Waverly’s stomach was doing flips. This was all so surreal; one minute she and Champ were together behind the bar, the next minute her feelings for the rookie female officer were overwhelming her to the point she could think of nobody and nothing else, day and night. Now here, back in Shorty’s bar, Waverly was fairly certain that what she’d always suspected, that Nicole Haught had fallen for her, was about to be confirmed. And she did not want to wait any longer to find out.

“Mmm-hmm” Waverly responded nervously, not wanting to break Nicole’s flow.

Nicole withdrew her hand from the table, instead moving it up and onto Waverley’s face. She brushed a hair away from her flawless face, and looked deep into her eyes.

“I’ve never felt this way, the way I’m feeling… about anyone. The way I feel for you, something.…” she struggled for the words. “I actually knew when I first met you. I’ve fallen hard for you Waverly. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.”

The two women just looked at one another as the words reverberated around Waverly’s head. She felt like she was falling. Waverly felt dizzy. She’d only had two beers, but she held onto the table, her knuckles turning white. This was enormous. Waverly had an idea the pretty young officer who walked into Shorty’s those weeks ago had developed feelings for her, but hearing the words in real life was quite something else. She flicked her eyes away from Nicole’s gaze and across the now-crowded saloon, which seemed to be a bit of a blur. Waverley tried to gain some composure.

Nicole brought her hands back to her lap and wiped them gently across her jeans, where her nerves then adrenaline had brought her palms out in a slight sweat. The pendant light crackled above them and Nicole observed Waverly was still staring across the bar, and a slight tic of a confused expression crept across her pretty face. Nicole had laid it bare and now felt like the air had just been sucked out of the room.

“Is it hot in here, or is it just me?” Nicole tugged at her top to try and instigate a cooling effect.

Waverly’s blue-grey eyes flicked around the room once more, seemingly looking for answers.

Nicole finished her bottle of beer and cleared her throat. “It’s definitely warmer. I’ll get us a couple of drinks.” She half-raised herself from the seat to get up.

Waverly, like the day previous, quickly reached across the table with her left hand to stop Nicole in her tracks. She had regained clarity.

“Will you take me somewhere?”

Nicole looked startled, she was worried Waverly was upset. “Yeah, sure, I’ve only had one beer so…” she checked her watch although she wasn’t sure why, and looked back at the beautiful brunette opposite. “Where’d you wanna go?”

Waverly started to put her jacket on. “Your place.”

 

The front door to the apartment slammed open and hit the wall behind with such force that the next door neighbours were woken. In the darkness, two figures fell into the hallway, the smaller one pushing the taller one assertively up against the wall, knocking her head on a picture frame that fell to the ground. The light of the outer hallway silhouetted them; two feminine outlines, one fairly tall and the other a good few inches shorter, stepping into the darkness and the silhouette becoming one as their bodies became closer.

Waverly pushed Nicole up against the wall and ushered her head down with her hands so that she could kiss her. Nicole obliged and ducked her head slightly, placing her hands on Waverly’s waist, drawing her closer. Nicole was surprised with the veracity of Waverly’s physicality, urging the officer to hurry unlocking her front door, and once it opened there appeared to only be one thing on her mind. The car ride home gave Nicole understanding of what was about to happen; Waverly insisted they leave Shorty’s swiftly and when they’d walked back to the patrol car, Waverly stood on tip-toe to plant a kiss on Nicole’s lips. She’d wanted to be intimate but Shorty’s was not the place. As they headed back to Officer Haught’s condo, they remained silent in the car, but exchanged knowing glances to one another. As they’d pulled away from town, Nicole’s petite passenger slid her left hand onto Nicole’s knee and slowly brought it up to her thigh, where she let it rest for the remainder of the journey. Nicole could not drive the patrol car back to her home quick enough.

As Waverly’s soft lips pressed against her own, and their tongues met, Nicole reached out in the darkness and slammed the front door shut. They were enveloped in darkness, save for a few cold rays of light which cascaded across the living room through into the hallway, illuminating Waverly’s eyes as she drew back for a moment. The pair caught their breath.

“You never got round to telling me how I look tonight, officer?” Waverly flirted confidently, her courage had taken on a new level now they were alone.

Nicole’s heart-shaped eyes looked the beautiful young thing slowly up and down in the near-darkness, her face in a half-smile with a degree of intensity. She looked Waverly square in the face, and with unabashed strength, picked her up by her waist. The petite Earp wrapped her legs around Nicole’s waist, at the same time her arms around her neck, and they drew their faces close to one another once more.

“There are no words, Waves” Nicole breathed.

The tall officer carried Waverly into the living room which had afforded a few more beams of light through the blinds. Waverly couldn’t make out much more of her surroundings but it didn’t matter, as Nicole tipped Waverly onto the cushions over the side of the couch, on her back. This made Waverly laugh, though her cute laugh was stifled as Nicole ushered her to be quiet by pressing a finger against her own lips. The lights from across the street had entered the room in such a way that they cut shards across the room which was in near total darkness. It was dramatic; the two women could see only parts of one another’s faces. It wasn’t necessary to see one another, as they didn’t intend to be far from each other for the remainder of the evening.

Waverly’s legs still half-dangled over the side of the couch as Nicole began to take the pins from her hair. Her red locks bounced down around her shoulder as she shook them out, and Waverly bit her lower lip in anticipation as the insanely hot woman in front of her proceeded to slip the boots off her long, slender legs.

“Nicole?” She whispered in the darkness.

“Yes baby?” Came the reply.

“You are so hot.”

Nicole smiled. “I think you mean Haught.” she whispered back.

Waverly’s two-beer courage gave her the muster to lean forward and drag Nicole forward onto the couch and on top of her, somewhat roughly so that the redhead clumsily fell onto Waverly. They laughed and both ‘ssshed’ one another so as not to make too much noise.

Waverly looked over Nicole’s body, now lying on top of hers. “Officer Haughtstuff” she purred.

Nicole brought her head level with Waverly’s. “You know it.”

Their mouths met once again and they kissed urgently, their tongues touching regularly and passionately and their hands moving intimately over their feminine forms. Both knew things were heating up, but neither wished to slow down.

Nicole rolled herself from on top of Waverly and hit the floor next to the couch, hitting the coffee table in the process, which wasn’t as graceful as she’d intended. Waverly snorted as Nicole covered her own mouth to stifle a loud giggle. Waverly continued to laugh as Nicole gingerly stood up and dusted herself off, making sure she hadn’t damaged the table with her not-so-elegant dismount from the couch, by looking backwards and down at the wooden lump behind her. Waverly’s laugh diminished and she regained a serious expression, desire burning inside of her and an immediate wish to return to where they just were. She watched Nicole as she sat down onto the sturdy coffee table, opposite. Waverly swallowed.

“Nicole,” she whispered again, “you know…” her voice trailed.

Officer Haught leaned closer to her, taking hold of her hands. “What is it baby?” She allowed herself to whisper.

Waverly pressed her lips together nervously and looked away to the side, a beam of light cast across her eyes in the darkness. Nicole sensed Waverly’s courage had dissipated momentarily. She leant forward on the coffee table and kissed Waverly tenderly on the cheek, her eyes half-closed with understanding for the girl opposite.

“I’ve never done this before. You know, with a girl.” Waverly said, looking embarrassed.

Nicole rubbed Waverly’s hand with her own, in empathy. She had been here too once upon a time, though it seemed so long ago, so she knew what the suddenly-nervous Earp in front of her was feeling. Nicole felt her eyes well up for a brief second, surprising herself with the outward compassion at Waverly’s admission, her vulnerability so rarely obvious.

“Don’t worry,” Nicole reassured her, placing a hand on Waverly’s knee, “I’ll show you. We’ll only do what you want to do. We’ll go slow.”

Waverly wanted to do everything, now she’d opened the proverbial floodgates. But she wasn’t sure what that was, or what it meant. She was in new territory, uncharted waters which she’d never previously imagined herself to be in. But as she looked at the slim outline of Nicole in front of her, red hair falling around her face, and a now-familiar sensation crept through Waverly, telling her that whatever they were going to do, she wanted to do it. Now.

Waverly leaned forward and unzipped Nicole’s top from the height of her elegant neck down to the middle of her back. Nicole was surprised at first, but inwardly delighted. She didn’t mean to outwardly convey how wildly her heart was beating at Waverly’s assertiveness to move things forward, but she didn’t have to as Waverly placed a delicate hand on her chest, on top of her fast-pumping heart.

“Hey there,” she smiled.

Nicole placed her hand on top of Waverly’s, and moved it to the bottom of her shirt, leading her girl onto the next move. Waverly looked up innocently into Nicole’s eyes. Nicole looked back into the crystal blue-grey waters of Waverly’s irises, now herself feeling increasing warmth spreading across her body. They continued to gaze deeply at one another as Waverly gently slid Nicole’s top over her head, exposing her toned yet feminine torso, which did not escape Waverly. It was a cold night outside but that wasn’t the reason for the goosebumps which formed across Nicole’s half-naked figure, which the youngest Earp had also observed.

Waverly took a breath. She looked at Nicole’s silver-grey coloured bra from the corner of her eye as she became aware Nicole was, in turn, lifting Waverly’s top over her head. As Waverly’s top surrendered over her head, hair falling around as it went, Nicole was enveloped in Waverly’s delicate perfume which surrounded her like a warm embrace. Nicole had loved that smell since day one, and she breathed it in as she’d done so many times before.

The blinds flickered as a breeze crept in through a crack in the window. Nicole stood up from the coffee table, the sight of her taught stomach cut into light shapes by the few shards coming in from the moon between the moving blinds. She reached out to Waverly and pulled her to her feet. There was no going back now, for either party. Urgently, they pulled at each other’s buttons, their stubborn jeans refusing to move as quickly as they were. Nicole tugged down Waverly’s denims and grabbed them from under her, as Waverly stepped out of them. ‘Oh man,” thought the officer as she caught a first glimpse of the half-naked hot little thing in front of her. Waverly had foresaw something may happen this evening, and had dressed appropriately, in matching underwear. Purgatory didn’t have much to offer in the way of ladies’ lingerie outlets, but the simple white underwear Waverly had on sent Nicole wild. Waverly saw the lust in Nicole’s eyes and it turned her on even more. She’d never felt remotely like this when Champ would fumble onto her in bed and roughly feel her up before they had sex. No, Waverly remarked to herself, this is way better than that. ‘And we haven’t even really done anything yet,’ she thought.

Nicole’s own jeans were halfway down her calves and Waverly utilised her inferior height difference to gently slide them down around Nicole’s ankles. Nicole wasn’t wearing matching underwear but that was OK, Waverly thought, because she wasn't planning on seeing her in it for very long. 

Beams of yellow light bathed the bedroom as Nicole’s alarm woke them from their slumber. As she hit the snooze button quickly, the sleepy officer turned back towards the warm body curled up next to her, practically in the middle of the bed.

“So it wasn’t a dream,” Nicole whispered gently, her voice cracking slightly.

Waverly let out a dreamy moan, half-asleep, but half-aware Nicole had stirred, her eyes still shut with no intention yet of opening.

Nicole leaned sideways in the bed, her left arm propping her head as she gazed over the petite shape that was opposite, covers wrapped around her.

“Wave,” Nicole whispered, “Waaave” she chimed again, the tone of her voice going up and down melodically.

The sleepy young woman opposite cracked open her eyes, allowing the light of the room to creep in. It was so bright in comparison to the intense darkness of the living room she and Nicole had made love in last night.

“Hey,” Waverly smiled, looking quite frankly adorable.

Nicole brushed some sleep from her own eye. “I’m so sorry Wave, I’ve gotta go to work today” she said, heavy with disappointment.

Waverly didn’t reply immediately. She looked back at the tired-looking redhead opposite and her mind wandered back to last night. Oh yeah, last night; she remembered.

They hadn’t made it to the bedroom. Not at first. They’d peeled out of their clothes and Nicole took the lead, making sure Waverly was comfortable with every move and every touch. As it turned out, Waverly was more than comfortable with all of it; she was grateful for her girlfriend being more experienced, and in any case, being gently dominated was incredibly sexy. More than once Waverly had imagined a roleplay where she’d strip Officer Haught out of her constrictive uniform, and the officer in turn would arrest her for being so naughty. Although it didn’t quite play out like that last night, Waverly felt herself become a little moist remembering what did take place a few hours ago, in the officer’s living room.

“Everything OK?” Nicole asked, concerned.

“Yes honey,” Waverly chimed, the term of endearment tumbling out unexpectedly.

Nicole’s lips pursed into a smile. “OK good. Because, you know, I don’t want to rush you into anything.”

“I know” Waverly’s voice was high, in an agreeing tone.

Nicole looked back at her clock. 7.00am. ‘Darn it,’ she thought, realising she’d have to get up from this bliss and go get ready for work. Nicole switched her alarm off and turned to sit up in bed. Despite the intimate knowledge they’d learned of one another last night, Nicole was acutely aware she had no clothes on, and in the cold light of day, Nicole Haught and Waverly Earp were naked in bed together. Nicole kept the covers held to her chest as she sat up, her auburn hair curling cutely from bed-head.

Waverly didn’t move, but watched intently to see what Nicole would do.

‘Fuck it,’ thought Nicole, as she let the covers drop, proceeding to get out of bed and walk toward the bedroom door. Her body was sensational; tall, slim, with curves as you would want them. Her skin was pale as it so rarely saw sunlight under her officer’s uniform, but it was flawless and supple. Waverly dropped a little lower into the bed and pulled the covers slightly nearer her face, so that her eyes peeked out from behind her soft screen. Nicole didn’t look back as she walked, naked, out the bedroom door.

‘I’ve seen a cop naked!” Waverly squealed to herself.

Nicole’s head popped back around the door suddenly. “Yes, you have.”

Waverly flushed red with embarrassment. She scolded herself for sounding like a little girl.

Nicole’s voice trailed as she went across the living room towards the small kitchenette area, calling back to Waverly in the bedroom.

“I’ve gotta get ready for work, but help yourself to whatever you want,” she said generously, “you know, coffee or whatever. Not valuables, obviously.”

Waverly heard the bathroom door slam shut. She blew out a breath which puffed her cheeks, as the events of the last 24 hours dawned upon her. Her history had changed inextricably now, as she’d spent the night with Nicole; this was actual real life. Waverly put a hand through her long brown hair and began to look around the room. She hadn’t actually taken a proper look at anything in the bedroom last night when she and Nicole had finally fallen into bed around midnight. It wasn’t particularly late, but Nicole became tired and they’d gone on to consume a couple more beers each. Beer made Nicole sleepy at the best of times but this week had been exhausting for her, and after the energetic, frenzied sex which brought pleasure to both had subsided, Waverly had realised her girlfriend was yearning to curl up in bed. A sweet smile crept across Waverly’s mouth.

The radiators clanged into life as Nicole hit the water on in the shower. Her place was nice, if a little, what did the realtor say? Rustic. Whenever she showered, the hot water cranked through the radiators too, which sounded like rusty church bells played out of tune.

Waverly could just make out the muffled sound of Nicole singing quietly to herself in the shower, under the heavy patter of hot water hitting bare skin and onto tiles. Nicole wasn’t even aware she was making a noise, interchanging between humming and a small burst of a chorus to a song she must have subconsciously heard at Shorty’s last night. She closed her eyes and allowed the hot water to jet onto her face.

The bathroom door closed with a click of the handle. The cop in Nicole snapped her out of her daze under the warmth of the shower, and she turned around quickly. Waverly had joined her in the shower. Nicole let out an audible gasp under her breath, seeing her girlfriend’s body in the daylight, as she hadn’t before.

“It’s cold” Waverly said apologetically, raising her left arm across her chest, half covering her breasts but half indicating she needed warming up.

“Come here,” Nicole reached out and moved Waverly underneath the shower head, so that she could benefit from the hot water shooting out from above. Waverly obliged, walking directly underneath the shower and letting out a thankful breath, as the warm water blasted her hair and trickled down her body. Nicole was stood behind, letting Waverly get warm, observing how she slowly moved under the hot stream, the water soothing her cold limbs. She also observed how goddamn gorgeous this girl was, her petite frame giving way to some curves both in front and behind, and Nicole couldn’t just look any longer as she moved forward towards the water. ‘Maybe there is room for two after all,’ Nicole smiled to herself.

Waverly turned round to meet Nicole as she was now in close proximity. Their bodies pressed against one another as the water hit them, their breasts touching as Nicole pushed her head down so that their mouths met. Waverly placed her hands on Nicole’s waist and then lower, sitting just on top of her peachy behind. The flame-haired officer’s hands also moved; her left hand onto the orange tiled wall behind the shower, and her right hand feeling it’s way down Waverly’s stomach, until it met her navel. The kissing intensified. Waverly pushed Nicole’s hand further down still, until it was met with a soft moan of pleasure which escaped Waverly’s lips. Nicole flashed a smile in between kisses. Waverly began to shudder as Nicole went to work, her movements slow at first, then quicker and quicker, not forgetting to pay attention by kissing Waverly’s incredible body across her neck and breasts. Waverly screwed her eyes shut as Nicole bent down in the shower onto her knees, and buried her head into Waverly.

‘Oh Jesus” Waverly said, her voice cracking with pleasure as her tongue flicked quickly across her lips.

“You want me to stop?” Nicole looked up.

“No!”

Nicole got back to it. Waverly held onto the glass side of the shower as her body began to shake, her knees buckling with the need for her to swallow hard in between deep breaths. She let out a sharp exhalation as her body jolted and Nicole stood back up. Her experienced companion smiled knowingly down at the brunette whose body became consumed with goosebumps under the hot water.

Waverly’s head was spinning as Nicole continued to smile at her as she squeezed a bottle into her hand and began to shampoo her red hair.

“OK?” She asked, lathering up her tresses.

“Yeah,” Waverly breathed. She was more than OK. She was speechless, and that didn’t often happen to Waverly Earp.

“Good,” Nicole smiled confidently, happy with seeing her girlfriend knocked for six with pleasure, “that’s good.”

Waverly rubbed her eyes as water splashed from Nicole’s shoulder onto her face, looking up and down admiringly at the woman standing a few inches away. Shampoo trickled down Nicole’s neck and onto her shoulders, a small cloud of bubbles diverting off and hitting her pert behind. Waverly was entranced.

Nicole was aware whilst she washed her hair that Waverly continued to stand silently behind her, out of the way of the water. “Waves?” She enquired as she turned, scrubbing her lathered-up red hair with her left hand.

“I was thinking," Waverly smiled a sideways grin back at Nicole, biting her lip bottom-right, "is there something I can do for you Officer?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after the night before, the cold light of day is a reminder for Waverly and Nicole that Purgatory life goes on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so I decided to write some more. What will happen next? Will Wynonna find out? Who shot JFK? Some of these may be answered in the ensuing chapter, and some.... may not.

The patrol car crunched up the approach to the Earp homestead as it had done the night before, slowly approaching the little house which had seen its best days a long time ago. It was 8.15am and Waverly was being dropped home in a twist on the walk of shame, something she had done before but never in a squad car - and never from a girl. Nicole drove as slowly as she could towards the house so as not to wake anyone inside, despite Waverly’s insistence that Wynonna  wouldn’t hear a thing, and would most likely be hungover and therefore dead to the world. But Nicole had long sensed Waverly wasn’t quite ready to share with her sister the fact that she was coming home from an overnight stay with Nicole.  
  
The patrol car came to a stop outside the house with a slight whine of the brakes, as Nicole then clunked the handbrake on. The tired pair looked at one another as the car came to a halt.  
  
“So,” Waverly said, pursing her lips but not looking at her counterpart, “thank you, for bringing me home.”  
  
“That’s….no problem?” Nicole replied, sensing things had turned slightly awkward and she wasn’t sure why. Things didn’t seem awkward in the shower this morning.  
  
Waverly undid her safety belt and quickly checked herself in the mirror, to rub away the mascara debris under her eyes and to pinch her cheeks for some colour. Nicole looked on admiringly. It may have been 8.15 or so, and they didn’t get as much sleep as they would like, but Waverly looked adorable to the officer, she didn’t care how sleepy or puffy-eyed she looked.  
  
“OK, gotta go” Waverly opened the door and moved quickly to exit the vehicle, the rustle of her blue parka jacket making a noise against the interior frame of the car as she went. Nicole looked visibly disappointed. Is that it? She thought. Nicole looked down at her belt, sat taught around the waist of her khaki uniform pants, and she put both hands on it as if to stabilise herself as the car door slammed shut behind Waverly. Nicole inexplicably found her eyes start to sting in the inside corners and felt like they were starting to well up. They’d had the most wonderful morning together: Making love in the shower, quickly getting dressed and then stuffing down some breakfast before leaving Nicole’s place; Waverly stole Nicole’s hat and had danced around the living room with it on her head, much to the annoyance of the officer. Waverly only stopped once Nicole had picked her up from behind around the waist, the young Earp’s legs kicking out in front of her to try and fight her way free. Eventually Waverly relented and placed the stetson from her own head onto Nicole’s, before gazing into her brown eyes and planting a kiss on her lips. But that seemed to be a lifetime ago now, instead of an hour or so, as the cold harsh reality of being back in the middle of Purgatory life was here once more. Nicole shook her head gently and looked down, half feeling sorry for herself, and half to try and shake some sense into her tired mind. There was a tap on her driver side window.  
  
“Hey,” Waverly was leaning, looking into the window, her voice muffled by being the other side of the glass, “Officer can you wind your window down please?”  
  
Nicole obliged, pressing the button so that the window wound down completely.  
  
Waverly leaned into the car and pressed a deep kiss on Nicole’s mouth, her lips already having started to chill in the cold Purgatory morning air. Nicole was taken by surprise and her eyes remained open for a few seconds, but they closed once Waverly did not pull away from the kiss. Instead, the kiss deepened and the world seemed to pause right there in the window of the patrol car. It was probably only several seconds but it felt like a lifetime, and eventually their lips closed into a finality, and Waverly gently pulled her head away so she could look into Nicole’s eyes.  
  
“Mmm-hmm!” Waverly mumbled in the affirmative with twinkly eyes, as if to say yep, that should do it.  
  
Nicole stared back at her with an almost startled expression, but so grateful her girlfriend had reaffirmed when Nicole was worried she had started to falter. Waverly popped a brisk kiss on Nicole’s forehead and turned on her heel towards her home, her little legs working quickly to get her inside within a few strides. The flame-haired officer continued to watch her as she walked to her front door and gently placed her key into the lock, trying hard not to make a sound as she turned it. A snowy wind blew into the patrol car through the open driver’s side window, but Officer Haught didn’t notice this, or even register it, as she continued to gaze at the gorgeous little thing attempting to sneak back into her own house.  
  
Waverly clicked the door open quietly, but before she went in, she swished around quickly to face the patrol car and her girlfriend. Waverly brought her right hand up to her face and made a sign with her thumb and little finger, into the shape of a telephone. “Call me” she whispered, looking half-apologetically at the be-hatted redhead sat in the driver’s seat. And with that, she disappeared into the house.  
  
Nicole allowed a smile to creep across her face, and she wound the window back up. She exhaled audibly, in a mix of relief and disappointment; relief that Waverly just gave her the affirmation of their relationship she needed, and disappointment she had to be parted from her.  
  
  
Waverly’s day had gone pretty much to plan, and if it went to plan, Waverly felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. Wynonna was indeed passed out, sound asleep and fully clothed on her bed when the petite Earp had returned home that morning. I knew it, she thought, and Nicole needn’t have worried. But Waverly remarked to herself that she really appreciated that Nicole was aware that Waverly may need to approach and handle this situation sensitively. Throughout the day, which was a Friday according to the battered calendar in the homestead’s kitchen, Waverly went about her chores with a sense of gusto, as if something, or someone, had lifted her spirits. Waverly wasn’t naive enough to not realise that she was somewhere near cloud nine because she’d spent an amazing night with Nicole, who for so long had been teetering on the cusp of best friend into lover. Waverly had snorted at the thought of the word ‘lover’. What does that even mean? She thought to herself. She imagined that word had popped into her head because they weren’t friends really - they’d gone beyond that as they’d mutually pleasured each other under the hot water this morning - but were they now girlfriends, as in a relationship?  
  
The thought wrangled around Waverly’s head all day as the kitchen was cleaned, the trash was taken out and laundry was done. Wynonna had gotten up somewhere near 1.00pm and yelled at Waverly she was making too much noise, as Waverly accidentally-on-purpose clanged some pots together in the kitchen. Wynonna had stumbled out of her bedroom, her jet-black hair up in the air like a wild woman, and scolded her younger sister for making such a racket when she clearly knew Wynonna was hungover in the next room. Waverly had punched her on the arm with a smile by way of apology. Despite her hungover state, it didn’t escape Wynonna that her younger sister was especially perky today, more so even than usual, and was intrigued as to what had occurred that she was so enamoured with life.  
  
“What’s up with you?” Wynonna spat, slumping down into a kitchen chair.  
  
“Nothing!” Waverly said almost too quickly, chiming the word in a high pitch.  
  
“Yeah, OK” Wynonna snorted, reaching out for a half-empty whisky bottle in the middle of the kitchen table. Waverly moved quickly and snatched it from her grasp.  
  
“I’ll take that, thanks,” she turned away from Wynonna, “a bit early, don’t you think?”  
  
Wynonna groaned at her sister’s sensibleness. “It’s happy hour right now somewhere in the world, you know.”  
  
Waverly perched onto tip-toe and placed the whisky bottle onto the top of the refrigerator. It was clearly not out of reach of the taller Earp sister, but it was more a signal that Waverly did not want Wynonna to go near it. Not for an hour or so, at least.  
  
“What’s got you so perky this morning?” Wynonna hissed, her mouth dry with last night’s stale booze.  
  
Waverly attempted to keep a poker face. “Nothing, really.” She insisted, turning around and bending down to arrange some things under the kitchen sink, facing away from her sister.  
  
Wynonna closed her eyes for a moment and her lips broke into a smile, with a dull sense of memories returning. “Where were you last night?”  
  
Waverly’s eyes widened, out of view of her older sister. “What’s that now?” She chirped in reply, pretending not to hear.  
  
The elder Earp stood up from the table and slowly traced a path over to her sister, who was bent down and seemingly trying to avoid eye contact.  
  
“You. Last. Night.” Wynonna repeated, now leaning against the kitchen counter next to her sister, who by now was almost curled into a ball in an attempt not to be viewed under scrutiny. Waverly tried to reach into the cabinet under the sink and ensured her head was halfway inside it, so her facial expressions could not be read. Her voice echoed around the dirty undersink cabinet.  
  
“I was out, at Shorty’s, just a couple of drinks, nothing crazy”  
  
Wynonna nodded. “Yeah. I was out too. Who were you with?”  
  
Waverly had to think fast. She wasn’t quite ready for the world to know she had crossed the line from bi-curious to bi-we-did-it-last-night, and even though Wynonna was the closest person in the world to her, she hadn’t prepared herself for this just yet. _Why hadn’t I planned for this!_ Waverly thought, telling herself off internally.  
  
“Hey!” Wynonna kicked a low kitchen cupboard with her booted left heel, impatient for a response. “Spill!”  
  
Waverly paused, closed her eyes and let out a breath.  
  
“Nicole. Nicole and I had a drink.”  
  
Wynonna’s brow furrowed with confusion, then disappointment.  
  
“Oh,” the dark-haired sister retorted, “is that it? I thought it was someone else. I thought you’d been up to something, seeing as you *snuck* in this morning.” Wynonna bounced herself away from the kitchen counter and headed back to the table to see what else it offered.  
  
Waverly peeped out from the cabinet, hardly believing that was as much questioning she would get.  
  
“Yep, just me and Nicole, nothing exciting. Sorry to disappoint you,” she confirmed, happy that she was able to speak truthfully and not have to make something up, because Wynonna could see right through Waverly’s lying face, “just boring old Nicole and me.”  
  
Wynonna’s back was now turned as she leant across the small kitchen table towards a wooden fruit bowl, accidentally adjusting the tattered tablecloth so that it started to pull awkwardly off one edge. Wynonna stuffed a couple of grapes into her mouth, still leaning.  
  
“Yeah, boring” she repeated, her voice straining against the mouth full of grapes.  
  
  
After they’d spent a bit more time bantering backwards and forwards, Waverly drove Wynonna into town in her red Jeep. They hadn’t had much in the way of nice things, certainly not in comparison to the likes of Chrissie Nedley and others, but Gus and Curtis had given Waverly a little bit of money, to accompany her hard-earned savings, so that Waverly could buy a car a year or so ago. Like most things, the choices were limited in Purgatory, but just as she was about to put her signature against a small, sensible silver car (which Sheriff Nedley had advised her would give great gas mileage), that same day a blood-red Jeep Wrangler had arrived on the car lot, and Waverly would not be dissuaded. Sure, it hadn’t always been reliable, and a convertible, despite being a jeep, wasn’t always practical in the cold weather of Purgatory. But Waverly loved that red vehicle; it was hers, and hers alone, and there were not many things she could call hers at that time.  
  
Wynonna hopped out of the passenger seat outside Shorty’s, her breath visible in the cold air.  
  
“See you later, alligator” Wynonna smiled, giving a mock salute with two fingers pressed against her head.  
  
“In a while…..” Waverly returned the smile and the salute, with her other hand gripping the steering wheel. The Earp girls had done this little ritual when they were young, whenever they were parted, and both enjoyed re-enacting it now they were living under one roof again.  
  
Waverly watched Wynonna stomp into Shorty’s in her clicky boots. Once the coast was clear, she delved into her bag which she’d brought up onto the passenger seat, searching around in the darkness. Chrissie Nedley had once scoffed that Waverly’s bag was like a Mary Poppins bag, and although Stephanie had laughed along naively thinking this would offend Waverly, the young Earp was secretly pleased. Who wouldn’t want to be compared to that, kind, good, positive person, thought Waverly. Her gloved hands stumbled upon what she was looking for: her cell phone. Despite what the day had brought so far, business with housework, sparring with Wynonna, there was only one thing Waverly really wanted to do, and that was find out as soon as possible when she could next see Nicole.  
  
Waverly hovered over the green button for a few moments. She’d asked Nicole to call her, and now here she was, calling Nicole. Perhaps she should wait a while, to see if Nicole will call? she thought to herself. Waverly stared at the cell phone for longer than she realised, playing out in her mind whether it was prudent for her to call or to wait to be called. Although it had only been a few hours, she was aching to be near Nicole again, just to be around her and hear her voice. Nicole was always so warm, no matter if it had been snowing for days outside and she wasn’t wearing a jacket; her warmth felt so inviting and totally different to the furnace-heat Champ would expel as they lay in bed together, and he'd sweatily wrap an arm around her under the covers. Nicole’s warmth seemed natural and an extension of her personality, and to Waverly it felt secure and, well, just right. When they’d brushed past one another several times before, her perfume intoxicated Waverly in such a way that she would yearn to experience it again as soon as humanly possible. Waverly continued to gaze dreamily at her phone, tossing up whether she should bite the bullet and just call despite requesting Nicole be the one to do it first.  
  
The screen flashed brightly. A new text message.  
  
‘I liked you staying over last night. Want to do it again soon? xN’  
  
Waverly’s heart fluttered in her chest at the sight of the message which had hit her phone. The idea of text messages were well-received by the youngest Earp; Someone, somewhere, is thinking of me at this exact moment, she had said previously to Gus or someone, trying to explain how texts worked. And at this moment Waverly wasn’t wrong - she was thinking of Nicole, and clearly Nicole was thinking of her too. Her stomach did a flip as she took a moment to consider her reply. Waverly put a gloved finger into her mouth and used her teeth to remove it from her cold hand, enabling her to write a reply.   
  
‘I liked staying over too :)  When did you have in mind? XX’  
  
The reply came less than 30 seconds later.  
  
‘How about tonight? xN’  
  
Waverly’s face intensified, the smile changing into a slight lip-bite of concentration. ‘How about now? XX’


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly bumps into Champ and feelings resurface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter there was no sexytime so hopefully this one will appease some of you.

Nicole fervently and secretively tucked her cellphone back into pocket, before anyone could see. Her desk at the station was in the back corner but only a couple of other officers were around, so anyone could walk in quickly and see she wasn’t working. How can I think about work, thought Nicole, stretching her arms out on the desk in front and grabbing a piece of paper in an attempt to read. Officer Haught was casting her eyes over the typing on the white-cream piece of record paper, some notes from a previous case no doubt, but the letters didn’t form words enough so that she actually took in what she was seeing.  
  
Moments earlier, she and Waverly had exchanged several texts backwards and forwards, in an unexpectedly exciting exchange. Nicole had observed Waverly’s request to call her later today, but several hours had passed and like a nervous teenager in the first throes of romance, she had to reach out to her girl as soon as it seemed long enough had passed. Texting seemed like a good idea; if Waverly couldn’t talk then she could just silently read her message when she had the time, and respond when it was appropriate. Little did Nicole think that Waverly responded in a matter of seconds, keen to reciprocate and just as eager to arrange their next get-together.  
  
Nicole had drifted off into another daydream. She let out a quiet, soft moan of contentment as she remembered them together this morning; the two of them in Nicole’s bathroom, towelling off after having showered together. Waverly had repaid the favour for Nicole, if a little nervously and tentatively, unsure of what she should be doing and whether it was bringing any pleasure to the lathered-up redhead. Nicole smiled to herself as Waverly was never usually so oblivious as she was this morning, worried she wasn’t making the right moves, unaware that the throb between Nicole’s legs was getting stronger, and just the mere sight of the slim, feminine girl in front of her in the shower was bringing her over the edge. With that in mind, Nicole reached back into her pocket for her cellphone, quickly unlocking it with slight of hand, excited to re-read the last message from her lover:  
  
‘Cool. I’ll be there. Don’t keep me waiting this time ;-) XXX’  
  
Nicole beamed at the winky smiley face Waverly had added to the text. It also didn’t escape that Waverly had upped her kisses on the end of the text from two, to three, during the course of the conversation.  
  
“Haught!” Nedley bellowed, as he angrily pushed open the station’s wooden gate leading into the officer’s desk area, gesticulating at her.  
  
Nicole attempted to exit from her texts on her phone quickly, but only succeeded in fumbling the phone through her fingers and juggling it until it hit the wooden desk below with a resounding crack.  
  
“Shit.” Nicole whispered.  
  
Sheriff Nedley approached her desk and pointed his finger down onto the wooden worktop. “Now I don’t want to have to say this again Officer Haught, but this here is a local, traditional sheriff’s office. I don’t want to see you emailing or whatever it is you’re doing on your cellphone, when you should be working.”  
  
“Yes sir,” Nicole apologised, looking him in the eye then looking down to the ground, embarrassed. Nedley brought his left hand back up from the desk and brushed down his ill-fitting uniform shirt. “Ok then” he nodded to her.  
  
As Nedley shuffled back to his office across the floor, Nicole leaned her head around to make sure he’d actually gone in and shut the door. Once the flimsy glazed wooden door slammed shut, the young officer quickly checked her cellphone. It had cracked across the middle of the screen where it had been dropped face down on the harsh wooden surface. Nicole swore under her breath and rubbed her finger lightly across the cracked screen, almost attempting to soothe it after its painful experience against the desk. Nicole quickly extended her neck and half-rose from her desk to double check Nedley had remained in his office - so far so good. She needed to see if this goddamn phone still worked despite it’s brush with death. Nicole quickly lit the screen and put her code in, a relieved smile sweeping across her face as she saw it still seemed to work, despite an annoying wonkiness to the screen. Nicole looked up at the clock in the middle of the station: 3.50pm.  
  
Waverly had driven away from Shorty’s once she was satisfied her text conversation had finished, and drove about a half mile north out of town, where a few shops and a beaten-up diner remained. Waverly was approaching the diner when she saw a vehicle outside that was oh-so-familiar. It was Champ’s truck. What’s he doing here? She thought, slowing down to pull alongside it. Champ wasn’t in the truck, but as it was parked outside the diner, Waverly had one guess where he would be. Waverly pressed her mouth together, stifling her obvious irritation, and changed her course slightly to park up next to the black pick-up belonging to Champ Hardy. She peered out of her windscreen and through to the dirty front windows of the diner, where she could see Champ roaring with laughter about something or other. Was he with a girl? Waverly squirmed about in her seat in order to try and see. She pressed her head against her windscreen and cupped her hand over her eyes in order to see better. _That is a girl!_ Waverly exclaimed to herself, at the same time slowly clocking on to Champ, who had also turned to look at the girl staring out of the red Jeep. Waverly jerked back into her seat, but it was too late; Champ had seen her. Waverly quickly went to take her phone from her bag but in the ten seconds it took to locate it, her ex-boyfriend had stomped out of the diner and was now stood next to her driver’s side window.  
  
“How’s it going” Champ enquired, seemingly finishing off eating something at the same time.  
  
“Um…..good. Good!” Waverly stalled for time; “how are you?”  
  
Champ looked sullenly at the ground. “Not that you probably care but…. not great. Actually.”  
  
Waverly felt a pang of sadness for him. Was this because of her? Did I make him sad? He looks kinda cute when he’s sad. Waverly looked concerned for him but didn’t reply.  
  
“Yeah,” Champ kicked the loose ground beneath his feet, “Things aren’t the same.” Champ paused. “I miss you baby.”  
  
Baby. That name. The term of endearment Champ had given her almost right away when they began dating. She liked it because she felt like Baby in the Dirty Dancing movie, and she was petite, young and misunderstood like the main character. But over time, Baby became Babe, and one time he even uttered Bae, to which Waverly shot him down with a look so harsh even someone with Champ’s brain capacity understood it wasn’t welcome. But now, hearing it from him, it felt empty. It meant nothing to her now, and the feeling behind it evaporated away from her the same as the hot breath in the cold air between them.  
  
“Did you hear me?”  
  
“Yes, I heard you,” Waverly almost snapped back, irritated that he seemed to demand a response.  
  
“Oh, sorry” Champ flashed her a smile.  
  
Waverly nervously checked her watch, bringing the brown strap back round so she could look at the white face of the dial. 3.55pm.  
  
“Got to be somewhere?” Champ asked, hoping the answer was no. He may have been a chump, but even Champ had feelings. He didn’t know if what he had with Waverly was love, but he was still hurt when she called time on their relationship. He’d fooled around with some other girls during their year or so together, some Waverly knew about, some she didn’t. But Waverly Earp was smoking and Champ’s buddies had always congratulated him on snagging one of the crazy hot Earp girls. “Hope not….” he tailed off hopefully.  
  
“Actually, yes, I do have to be somewhere. But anyway…” Waverly nodded towards the diner, “it seems you have some company you need to get back to?”  
  
Champ looked into the diner window and back at his ex-girlfriend. “Who? Her? Are you nuts?”  
  
Waverly tutted to herself and rolled her eyes, as she’d done so many times before.  
  
“Baby, baby, listen,” he pressed his face near to hers through the window, propping his arm up on the frame of the Jeep, “let’s start again, ‘k? I don’t think Officer Whatshername can give you what you need….I mean….” he traced his finger through the loose strands of her hair, “…only I know what you like.”  
  
As Champ smiled that lazy smile and stroked Waverly’s hair, she felt herself be transported back nine months or so, when Champ was still attentive and nice. The faint trace of motor oil wafted from his shirt and into her senses. Waverly pricked her nostrils. I never did like motor oil in my nose, she thought. With a quick motion, she slapped Champ’s hand out of her hair.  
  
“No, Champ, you do not. And don’t touch me.” Waverly spat, looking horrified. Champ looked surprised, genuinely shocked that he’d been rebuffed. Again.  
  
“Oh so you’re telling me you don’t miss…certain things?” Champ raised an eyebrow, and tugging on the loose brown belt to his jeans. Waverly was not in the mood to enter into a bizarre conversation with her ex, in fact, she didn’t want to see him at all, ever again. Champ was a part of a life she once knew - a life without Wynonna; without Nicole. Waverly jumped with surprise at the sound of the patrol car door slamming shut.  
  
“Nicole!”  
  
“Oh man” Champ groaned, seeing the rookie officer approaching from several feet away.  
  
“Is there a problem here?” Officer Haught said in an official tone, unclipping her leather safety clasp from the pistol on her hip, and tipping her stetson slightly.  
  
“Yeah, actually there is,” Champ stood from leaning against the jeep, “you’re the problem.”  
  
Waverly looked worriedly between the two of them, now locked in another unexpected confrontation. “Champ…” Waverly gestured to him, waving her hand as if to ask him to leave things.  
  
The officer walked around the front of the Jeep and next to Champ. She looked him up and down before responding.  
  
“I see. I’m sorry to hear that. Well if y’all have a complaint, y’all can write to the Sheriff.”  
  
Waverly cracked a secretive smile at Nicole’s no-nonsense facade. It was nice to see another woman in Purgatory stand up for herself, and besides, Nicole’s confidence was a complete turn-on to the young Earp.  
  
Champ turned on his heel and started towards the entrance to the diner. “You know what I mean, you…” his sentence tailed off.  
  
“You, what?” Nicole raised her voice in reply as Waverly’s ex-boyfriend turned his back on the two women.  
“Ah forget it, I can’t even go there” Champ sneered back, putting one hand in his jeans pocket.  
  
Waverly watched the pair snarl at one another from behind the steering wheel of her Jeep. She hated seeing Champ like this; sure he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he wasn’t usually unkind, and he’d also made a few remarks to some of Shorty’s patrons about Nicole which were less than savoury.  
  
Nicole watched him return to his booth in the diner at the front window, re-clipping the safety strap over the handle of the pistol on her hip. Waverly watched the slender fingers slip over the smooth grain of the leather holster automatically, a well-practiced motion which Nicole clearly didn’t need to look at to know what she was doing. Nicole narrowed her eyes as Champ leant across his diner table to plant a sloppy kiss on the girl opposite him. Yuck, she thought.  
  
Waverly popped her head halfway through the window gap to catch Nicole’s attention. The officer continued to stare at the pair in the diner as she slowly headed towards Waverly. “Boy-men,” Nicole whispered, with a dimpled smile at her girlfriend.  
  
“I wasn’t expecting to see him, obviously not here” Waverly replied.  
  
Nicole looked down at the face of Waverly’s watch. “I didn’t keep you waiting this time, huh?”  
  
Waverly’s cheeks turned a little pink and she looked down at her lap. Nicole had made it sound so demanding: Don’t keep me waiting! What have I turned into, thought Waverly.  
  
Nicole looked around her, her head turning side to side so that a couple of wisps of red hair dropped out from under her hat.  
  
“You wanna get out of here?”  
  
Waverly’s eyes focused on the brown oceans of Nicole’s. “Yes” she responded, steadfastly.  
  
“Follow me” Nicole urged.  
  
With that, the officer practically ran back to her patrol car, starting up the engine and putting it into gear in one swift motion. Waverly caught Nicole giving her a flash of a smile and wink as she reversed back onto the road, and tore off. Waverly realised she needed to hurry, so she moved from Park into Drive and followed, wheelspinning away from the diner in a cloud, unaware of Champ’s sad face pressed against the glass, watching her follow the patrol car up the road.  
  
They’d been driving for several minutes in convoy when Waverly noted Nicole had pulled off the road and onto the bumpy landscape, driving slowly towards an abandoned gas station.  
  
“What the…?” Waverly mumbled under her breath, the rocks beneath the tires of the Jeep bouncing her around her seat.  
  
The cruiser parked up behind the disused old office belonging to the gas station, and Nicole got out. She opened the trunk and placed her hat inside, stopping to take out a warm-looking jacket, placing it onto one arm and pulling it around her. The red Jeep pulled up alongside her.  
  
“What,” Waverly questioned from the relative safety of the window, “are we doing here?”  
  
Nicole slammed the trunk shut. “Er, well, y’all should know, do you want me to read that text out to you again?” She began to slip her cellphone out of her pants pocket.  
  
Waverly jumped out of her car and stopped Nicole by pressing her hand against the officer’s, down by her pocket so she couldn’t grab her phone. Nicole raised an eyebrow, looking down at Waverly’s  adorable face from her superior height advantage.  
  
“No don’t read it again, it’s….kinda embarrassing” Waverly smiled, looking from side to side.  
  
“Oh OK” Nicole pretended she was in agreement, using her other hand to push away Waverly’s from her hip.  
  
Waverly checked herself a moment.  
  
“What happened back there with Champ…” she shook her head, “…so annoying. I’m sorry he spoke to you the way he did.”  
  
Nicole smiled. She had nothing to be sorry for. The redhead officer didn’t reply but brushed some loose strands of caramel-coloured hair away from Waverly’s face. Waverly closed her eyes. That felt good.  
  
Nicole cleared her throat. “So…..last night.”  
  
Waverly’s eyes opened and she looked out across the road. “Yep, last night. Aaaand…. this morning.”  
  
“Yeah,” Nicole said with a laugh, a cloud of hot breath accentuating the exhalation of amusement; “this morning too.”  
  
Waverly looked back up to meet with her girlfriend’s eyes. “Listen, this is all so new to me. All of it. Not just the - “ she looked around and lowered her voice, “ - sex. These feelings are new too.”  
  
A warm feeling grew inside the tall officer. She’d had the hots for this gorgeous girl since the moment they’d met at Shorty’s, that much was obvious, but it was the emotional part that had been gnawing away at Nicole like an ache that would never go away. She felt a rush of adrenaline hearing Waverly talk about feelings.  
  
“I know baby,” she whispered in reply.  
  
Waverly closed her eyes briefly. There it was again. Baby. But when it came from Nicole’s lips, it felt like a different word, a different language even. When Nicole called her baby it made Waverly want to do things to her - things she wasn’t even sure she knew how to do yet. She too felt a warming sensation, though this one seemed to head straight to her pants.  
  
“We can sit in my car, it might be warmer” Waverly suggested, taking Nicole by the hand and opening the door to the Jeep.  
  
Nicole didn’t say a word. Once they’d moved the seats forward, they fell onto the cold leather of the back seat. The flimsy convertible roof flapped in the wind above them, obscuring them from view because of the cheap nature of the supposedly opaque panels. Waverly brought her mouth close to Nicole’s.  
  
“Nicole,” she breathed.  
  
Not looking, the officer unclipped her belt and holster, shoving them down onto the floor of the Jeep.  
  
“Nicole,” Waverly repeated, “say it again.”  
  
The flame-haired officer didn’t need reminding what needed repeating. She knew.  
  
“Baby” she husked back.  
  
Upon hearing this, Waverly squirmed and pulled Nicole’s lips against hers, both breathing hard through their nose in order to catch their breath. Waverly thought back to Nicole squaring up to Champ’s rudeness, and how she didn’t break under pressure. How her uniform made her look all kinds of hot, and how she longed to see under it again. Waverly became aware that her underwear had become slightly damp. Nicole broke off the kiss and smiled.  
  
“Oh you like that, do you…..?” She placed her hand on Waverly’s knee, “Baby?”  
  
Waverly growled with excitement and moved back in to kiss Nicole on the lips, slipping her tongue into her mouth seductively. This time Nicole let out a gentle moan.  
  
Earlier, the two women had decided - by text message - to meet up at 4.00pm by the diner. Officer Haught had told Nedley she was checking out a lead and he didn’t seem to be listening - by that time happy hour was fast approaching and he wouldn’t be around the station long after 5.00. She’d driven towards the diner and noted both the red Jeep and the black truck side by side, letting out an exasperated groan of ‘fuck’s sake…’. The intention was always that Waverly and Nicole wanted to see one another, just to be in each other’s company away from the station so Nicole wouldn’t get her ass busted again, so they agreed to secretly meet up just out of town. Neither had banked on bumping into the boy-man, and now Nicole was worried he’d spill to Nedley and anyone who would listen that he’d seen them both.  
  
“Waves?”  
  
“Mmm-hmm” Waverly dreamily moaned in reply, her hands under Nicole’s jacket and on her waist.  
  
“This feels a bit….”  
  
Waverly broke from their kiss and looked Nicole square in the eyes.  
  
Nicole continued. “Naughty.”  
  
Waverly squeezed Nicole’s right thigh and slid it upwards towards the zipper, letting it rest just in the crease of her leg. Damn right it feels naughty, Waverly thought. But she’d spent so long being good, trying to make the best of things as Wyatt Earp’s relation in this town of Purgatory, spending so much time working on improving the family’s reputation. Waverly had never done anything naughty in her life. Well, there was that one time with the guinea pig and the bath tub, but he survived and Gus only grounded her for a week. No, Waverly had genuinely never been a bad girl, she’d always been the good one. That’s what they had Wynonna for - the black sheep of the family.  
  
Nicole didn’t think too much beyond what she’d just said. She felt like she was skipping class or something, to kiss behind the gas station. But feeling Waverly’s hands moving up and down her body, pulling at her clothing and tugging at her shirt buttons, Nicole didn’t care right now. She moved her hand down to Waverly’s stomach, under her shirt, and the cold fingers against her torso made Waverly jump.  
  
“Sorry” Nicole smiled apologetically.  
  
Waverly smiled back reassuringly. It was cold in this jeep, but that wasn’t about to stop either of them.  
  
Nicole tugged at Waverly’s belt buckle with one hand, her experience guiding her to pull back the leather and allow the metal rod to fall out of the hole securing it in place. She slipped the leather belt back through it’s metal prison and allowed it to drop, unsecured. Waverly’s stomach felt like it had butterflies again. They were only kissing and Waverly felt such a huge rush of adrenaline, something she’d never really felt before last night. She felt Nicole’s hand expertly unbutton the top of her jeans, and slip down in between her underwear and bare skin. Waverly’s lips intensified against Nicole’s mouth as she felt Nicole’s fingers run down the front of her, the feeling of the soft feminine hand in the front of her pants beginning to rub was mindblowing.  
  
“Is this OK?” Nicole whispered into Waverly’s ear.  
  
“Don’t stop”  
  
Nicole continued to rub gently inside Waverly’s underwear, now unashamedly wet through. Waverly placed her hand onto Nicole’s wrist to keep it firm, and used her other to pull out her jeans from under her, letting them fall down to her ankles. There wasn’t much room in the backseat of the jeep, but there was enough.  
  
Nicole sensed what she was doing felt good. She placed two fingers inside Waverly, watching her back arch as the fingers moved deeper. Last night, Waverly said she hadn’t known what to do with another woman, and Nicole fell in love with Waverly all over again as she carefully and sensitively explored Nicole’s body until they’d found a rhythm. This time, Waverly embraced the naughty side of their afternoon adventure, her free hand pulling hard on Nicole’s shirt buttons with such force that the black shirt ripped open. Waverly was mortified.  
  
“Oh no! Nicole! I’m so sorry!” Her eyes widened with horror at ruining the officer’s uniform.  
  
Nicole already had it halfway off over across her back, her black bra showing in the dull light of the Jeep’s backseat. “It’s OK, really” she reassured the sexually-charged girl opposite.  
  
Waverly screwed her face up by way of apology. “I’ll get you a new one. I’ll pay for it.”  
  
Nicole let the shirt slip off her shoulder and watched it fall behind her, the upper half of her body shivering slightly in the cold, as she was halfway down to her underwear.  
  
“Sure, I’ll let you pay for it. You can pay me back. Starting now.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a case of Girls, Interrupted I'm afraid for our dutiful heroines. But what does it all MEAN?

“I love you.”  
  
Waverly fell into her house and propped herself up against the closed front door. What did she say? The three words swirled around in her confused head, almost appearing in front of her eyes every other second. She cast her mind back to earlier, attempting to recall what had taken place. Champ had unintentionally ambushed their meeting and was unfortunately being all, well, Champ, and then she and Nicole had parked up behind a gas station and well, you know. Just as Waverly was preparing to repay the debt to Nicole, enforced by ripping open her girlfriend’s shirt in a passionate frenzy, the two women were disturbed in their Jeep hideaway by a local farmer, coming over to check they were OK. Thank the Lord the old guy couldn’t really see in; he would have seen two half-naked girls in the back clinging to each other for dear life. It was only the steamed-up front windows that had saved their dignity.  
  
Waverly slumped down to the floor against the door remembering how hastily they’d both gotten dressed, Nicole shouting out of the vehicle to the kindly farmer that things were fine and to thank him for his concern, whilst simultaneously attempting to button up a shirt which had been ripped open moments earlier. This was just what Nicole did not need, she’d thought to herself. Not only may Champ tell Nedley that she and Waverly were seen fraternising outside that horrible old diner, but now this farmer dude could corroborate a patrol car and the red jeep were parked up some way out of town. Waverly knew at the time, by the rushed way Nicole was attempting to re-dress herself, that what had taken place wasn’t ideal.  
  
“I’m sorry” she uttered, trying to get Nicole to look at her.  
  
Nicole felt around under the seat in front of her, reaching for her belt and holster. “Where. Is. The. Damn. Belt.” She said, angrily.  
  
Waverly’s cheeks had gone from the rosy pink of excitement to stark white with horror when this old guy had knocked on the window, and now they burnt a shade of red again as she felt upset. Upset they’d been disturbed; upset Nicole may get in trouble for playing hookey, upset that Nicole seemed to be upset - maybe with her.  
  
“Please - I’m sorry. Nicole, please look at me.” She pleaded.  
  
Nicole placed her hand on the cold leather belt which had squirmed it’s way under the front seat, and brought it up to rest on her lap. She took a thin black hairband from her wrist and quickly tied her hair up behind her in a ponytail. She seemed harrassed.  
  
“What? What is it Waverly?”  
  
Waverly pulled back a little. _She’s angry with me?_ She thought. _How is this even my fault?_  
  
Nicole tightened the band at the back of her hair, ensuring nothing would fall out. She went to speak, then stopped herself. She tried again:  
  
“Look, Waves, I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at myself.” She tutted.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Look at us!” She exclaimed. “I’ve hardly been in town two seconds and I’m already getting into trouble with my boss, with girls….” Nicole’s voice didn’t finish her sentence.  
  
Waverly raised a single eyebrow, responding quizzically. “Girls?”  
  
“You know what I mean” Nicole twisted around from the waist, trying to guide her belt back through the loops of her khaki pants. It was currently on inside out and Nicole got angry trying to establish why it wouldn’t sit right.  
  
“No, clearly I don’t know what you mean,” Waverly responded bitterly, “Girls plural?”  
  
Nicole sat still for a minute and let out a sigh, half of irritation and half to keep some semblance of sanity. The heat in the back of the Jeep had died off and it was now really rather cold. The cold air bit at Nicole through the gaps in her ruined black shirt, making her feel chilly despite her usual warm disposition. She took Waverly’s right hand in her own.  
  
“Waves - “  
  
Before she could continue, Waverly drew back her hand from Nicole’s. Nicole smiled in disbelief and shook her head.  
  
“Waverly! Come on now. I said girls….I meant girl. You. Hey, come on! One minute you’ve got my hand down your pants and the next - you don’t want me to touch you?”  
  
The girl opposite had what could only be described as a pout, spreading across her face. When she was much younger, her sister Willa would tease her about how short she was, and how little she resembled her and Wynonna. Willa would do this when no-one else was around, and little Waverly would stick her bottom lip out before she went to cry, contorting her face into a pout. Willa just laughed at her when she did that.  
  
“Fine” Nicole said stubbornly, opening the Jeep’s door and backing out of it into the icy cold, late-afternoon wind. She trudged over to her patrol car, opening the trunk and plucked out her trusty cream-coloured stetson. Nicole used the flat of her hand to pat it firmly down on top of her head, the hat not sitting very nicely now she’d put her hair into a highish ponytail.  
  
Inside the Jeep, Waverly was trying to keep up her pout. She thought she could trust Nicole, and she was sure that was just a figure of speech, girls, as in more than one, but what if she wasn’t? Waverly had agonised over giving up a long-term boyfriend to immerse herself into curiosity and the unknown. She had planned and planned the different outcomes for potential situations; what if Nicole didn’t feel the same way about her? What if she did but Waverly changed her mind? What if Champ tried to win her back? What if she got together with Nicole but was met with disapproval from Wynonna? Or Gus? Shorty? Everyone??  
  
Waverly snapped herself from her silent process, and wriggled out of the back of the Jeep, planting two booted feet onto the ground below. Her arms were folded across her chest in a metaphorical display of defence; she was not about to be broken.  
  
The hat-wearing officer trudged back up to the cross-looking young woman, whose teeth had begun to chatter with cold.  
  
“I’m not prepared to argue about this Waverly,” Nicole explained with a soft tone, “that was just a figure of speech, you must know that.”  
  
Waverly began to soften. Maybe she had been hasty in flying off the handle. But it wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility; Nicole was hella attractive and it wouldn’t have surprised the youngest Earp if she’d already snared one or two girls from around these parts. Nicole was incredibly charming when she turned it on, and could turn heads - girls and boys. Waverly didn’t doubt she wasn’t the first straight girl who Nicole had successfully turned. But this was all ifs and buts; here she was, trussed up in her starchy uniform, standing in front of Waverly and asking her to climb back down off her high horse and let them be OK again.  
  
She really didn't want to argue, and she couldn't think of a reason to distrust the person who had seemingly been there for her, unwavering, since she got into town. Waverly punched Nicole on the arm with a gloved hand. “I know that” she replied.  
  
The relief was evident, spreading itself across the officer’s face. Nicole mimed wiping her brow and whistled. Waverly smiled at Nicole being all silly. Silly, lovely, wonderful Nicole.  
  
Nicole picked up her jacket once more, and zipped it up tight, a necessary move as her shirt gaped open in several places. She zipped it right to the top, so it covered her mouth. She lifted her chin over the constrictive neck of the jacket, pulling a funny face which Waverly found amusing.  
  
“What’s so funny?” Nicole enquired.  
  
Waverly didn’t have the energy to explain. “Ohhhh nothing.”  
  
Nicole pursed her lips together and cocked her head quickly to the horizontal and back up, signalling she didn’t really understand. “Ok then” She mused.  
  
Waverly realised this meeting hadn’t ended as they’d anticipated, and she felt the pain of disappointment course over her. She lifted her heels from the floor and swayed upwards, keeping her arms folded but attempting to hold Nicole’s gaze at the same height. She opened her mouth to speak, but Nicole got there first.  
  
“Waves, I’m real sorry this didn’t go as we thought it would go,” she said sympathetically, “but I’m worried now and I’d better head back to the station. Even if Nedley isn’t there. Show my face, y’know?”  
  
Waverly rocked back down onto her heels. She did know. But she couldn’t hide her disappointment. She and Nicole were only young and they had their whole lives to see each other and have as many adventures as they wanted, but right now, in amongst all the chaos of living an Earp existence, this was the constant measure she needed most. She wanted - no, needed - to be around Nicole, her whole being insisted upon it. And now they were to part again, hopefully only for a short time.  
  
Nicole began to put her gloves on. “OK,” she said resolutely, looking to finish up this conversation and head back into town. But Waverly wasn’t quite finished.  
  
“You know..” her voice trailed, “…I kinda ruined your shirt huh.”  
  
Nicole looked down at the front of her jacket, imagining what the shirt, ripped in the heat of passion, looked like underneath. She smirked. “Yep, you sure did. I’ll ask Nedley to send you the bill.”  
  
“No seriously, I need to fix this. I’m pretty handy with a needle and thread. Maybe you could… come round sometime soon, and I can sew it back together?”  
  
Nicole raised an eyebrow this time. “You? Sew?”  
  
Waverly pretended to be offended. “Umm, yuh-huh I sew? You may not have noticed that before Wynonna showed up, there wasn’t a whole lot to do around this town. You know, for someone who I regard as being intelligent, that big ol’ brain of yours doesn’t always keep up with your looks huh?”  
  
The redhead didn’t quite know how to take that response; she didn’t know whether to be amused or offended, to laugh or to joke back. What was clear was that Waverly had just told her she thought she was smart and pretty at the same time, and that was pretty darn good.  
  
“I’ll take you up on that offer, Earp” she chirped back.  
Earp, thought Waverly, sounds funny when it comes from her. I prefer Baby I think.  
  
Nicole checked her watch and her brow furrowed, creasing her forehead slightly.  
  
Waverly got in quick before Nicole could say she was leaving. “Yeah so, how about this weekend? Please don’t tell me you only have one shirt, and you need it back tomorrow, I don’t think I’ll find my sewing kit before tonight…plus Wynonna’s around….” her voice tailed off.  
  
Nicole wanted to head off but didn’t want to cut off her pretty young girlfriend mid-conversation. “No, not tonight. I need to get some sleep!” She laughed.  
  
“Tomorrow then?”  
  
“Sunday, Sunday is better” Nicole confirmed.  
  
Waverly nodded in excitement. Sunday it is, she thought.  
  
Nicole sensed the natural end in conversation, and walked around to the driver’s side of her cruiser. She opened the car door and put one leg in, ready to steady herself into the driver’s seat.  
  
“Sunday, Sunday” Waverly repeated to herself under her breath, turning around and heading back towards her car.  
  
“Oh, one more thing, Wave?” Nicole called out.  
  
Waverly span around, one foot planted into the frosty ground. “Mm-hmm?” She said absent-mindedly.  
  
“Can you do something for me?” Nicole requested.  
  
Waverly looked confused. She thought they were heading their separate ways now. _What, she’s giving me homework now?_ Waverly said to herself. She looked Nicole in the eye.  
  
“Don’t ever change,” Nicole breathed, her voice wavered the slightest hint, and a gloved hand steadying herself on the roof of the car, “because you are…well, that’s who I've fallen in love with anyway.”  
  
Waverly froze.  
  
“Run that past me again?”  
  
Nicole nodded to herself and blinked slowly, as if to muster up the courage once more. She pressed her lips together as if blotting lipstick. “I said,” she responded, in a clear, articulate tone, “I love you.”  
  
  
Waverly’s daze, slumped against the inside of the front door was rudely interrupted when Wynonna suddenly tried to enter the homestead, throwing open the door abruptly, hitting Waverly painfully as she was sat behind it. Waverly cried out in pain, surprise and anger, and Wynonna popped her head around the slightly ajar door.  
  
“Oh, hey sis” She looked down.  
  
“JEEZ-US!” Waverly exclaimed rubbing the back of her head, and her right arm. The door hit her pretty hard, and her body was throbbing from being walloped.  
  
Wynonna pushed the door gently, with Waverly still slumped against it, her strength enabling her to still slide it open with a female human blocking it. Wynonna followed inside, and closed the door behind her, as Waverly stopped herself falling backwards with the disappearing door as a prop.  
  
“What are you doing down there anyway?” Wynonna scowled at her crazy sister.  
  
“If you must know,” Waverly propped herself onto one knee, dusting herself off, “I’d only just got home too.”  
  
“Next time try sitting in a chair, OK baby girl?”  
  
Waverly didn’t find it funny. She would have of course gone to sit at the table, or more likely, scuttled up to her bedroom and jumped onto the bed for some privacy with her thoughts, rather than sit on the cold floor behind the front door. But the words Nicole had left her with were swirling around her head like a typhoon, and since leaving her at the gas station, Waverly had been stunned into silence, dumbfounded and confused.  
  
Wynonna had walked out of the kitchen and back in again, by the time Waverly had steadied herself and got to her feet. A befuddled expression wore across the younger Earp sister’s face.  
  
“Hey,” Wynonna recognised, “everything OK?”  
  
_Well_ , Waverly thought, _Actually, last night I had sex with a woman, and this morning, and nearly just now, as we’ve kind of been flirting with each other for weeks, and you know her, she’s a cop, no-one else knows, and she's really pretty, and now she’s said she loves me_. Waverly's mind raced as she stood silently motionless opposite her sister.  
  
Wynonna waved a hand across Waverly’s face. “Anyone home?”  
  
Waverly spluttered back into the moment. “S-sorry” she apologised half-heartedly.  
  
“Come on, let’s have a drink” Wynonna smiled, knowingly.  
  
It was 6.15. A little early for Waverly. She began to speak, but Wynonna interrupted, answering herself before her sister could.  
  
“OK, I’ll drink, you can tell me how your day was.”  
  
Wynonna headed to the refrigerator and pulled down the bottle of whisky her sister had stored up there hours earlier. She motioned to Waverly to come with her, as they headed over to the fireside and a cosy-looking throw bunched up on the couch.  
  
“Did anything happen today?” Wynonna’s voice trailed off as she headed over to the couch.  
  
“Ummm….” Waverly didn’t know how to respond.  
  
“Can I tell you about my day?” Wynonna shouted back to her.  
  
“Sure,” Waverly hollered back, her eyes darting from side to side as she thought of a reply, “but just in case I forget to tell you later, Nicole is coming over on Sunday.” She paused. “Is that cool?”  
  
Wynonna didn’t hesitate in her reply, cracking open the warming bottle of whisky.

 

“No problemo, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand here's another. What do we think, room for some more? Anyone getting bored yet?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The weekend approaches and Nicole kicks back after a shift with a couple of beers. Just a couple, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short, but important, interlude before the Wayhaught goodness resumes. I likey if you likey. Stick with me, good stuff is coming :)

Officer Haught's condominium apartment was just on the edge of town. It was built around the 1950s, she believed, and she had begun renting it a few days after arriving in Purgatory. It was homely yet sparsely decorated; a well-worn comfortable looking couch dominated the living room, accompanied by a low wooden coffee table in front and a mis-matched lamp table to the side. A couple of important photo frames were placed on the teak cabinet which sat against the back wall, near the doorway to the bedroom, one of Haught and her two brothers, and one of the graduating academy class of '15. Nicole didn't like having much in the way of ornaments and keepsakes out on display,  _dust collectors,_ she had called them previously to an old roommate.

Nicole had arrived back at her condo at the end of a long Saturday at work. Some strange things had been taking place in the last couple of days which were troubling her, unexplainable impossibilities which no-one seemed to have an answer for. This morning Wynonna Earp had been at the station, locked away in the adjacent office with Agent Dolls. It was all so secretive and Nicole was bitter about not being included in their work, like a petulant child upset at not receiving an invite to the party. But it wasn't inclusion Nicole was seeking, rather, an opportunity to exhibit her skills in good ol' fashioned detective work, which she'd received so much praise for back at the academy. The certificate written in old-style typeface which hung over the archway to her kitchen didn't detail how she'd been top of the class in several assignments and practical assessments, and how she'd held her own in the mind-bruising psychological assessment. For Nicole, ignoring her emotions and sticking to the game plan was not difficult - she'd been doing it practically her whole adult life.

She unbuckled her belt and tossed it, holstered pistol and all, onto the couch. The tired officer propped one boot up against the side of the couch in order for her to untie the tight laces, and then the other in succession. The standard-issue boots added an inch to Nicole's already tall frame, and she was glad to be relieved of them as she padded over to the kitchen in her socks. It was somewhere around 10pm, but it felt much later. She didn't put the light on to the kitchen, but Nicole headed straight to the refrigerator, the light flickering as she held the door open to peer inside.  _Not much going on in here,_ she thought. On auto-pilot, she reached to the back and pulled a cold bottle of beer from the recess of the appliance, the glass scraping and clanking against the metal shelf inside as she drew it out. Drinking after a shift had become a bit of a regular occurrence for Nicole, not least because she never seemed to have any darn food in the place, but because it relaxed her. During her academy days, her and the others would meet up for drinks regularly after their days in class, and most weekends were spent on base egging each other on in drinking games within saloon bars. Nicole wistfully thought of those days momentarily, a nostalgic smile crept across her lips in the flickering light of the refrigerator.

She slammed the door shut and headed over to the couch, throwing herself into the middle and slumping comfortably between the seat cushions. Only the other night, she'd watched the youngest of the Earp family undress seductively for her on the very same couch, and they'd kissed passionately, straddled atop one another on, across and next to it too. Nicole didn't think back to the other night for too long. She placed her beer onto the table next to a coaster, the condensation running onto its wooden surface, and proceeded to take the constrictive bobby pins from her hair. As she did, her auburn locks tumbled down lazily, almost surprised at being unleashed from their styled prison. Nicole breezed her hand through her hair, closing her eyes at the same time as it felt good, relaxing. Her mind started to wander.

After a few moments, she slapped a palm across her knee angrily, grimacing in disgust as her hand made a cracking noise on her khaki pants. "Nicole," she whispered to herself, "what did you go and say that for. You were doing so well". She leaned forward and resumed drinking her beer. The bottle left behind a ring of water on the table top. "God Almighty..." she took herself to task again, interrupting her outburst with another swig of beer. Nicole was annoyed with herself. The last time she and Waverly had been face to face, she'd blurted out that she loved her, thinking then was the right time and moment. She'd always imagined a grand scene for a declaration of love, like something from a movie, a sweeping gesture. Nicole was a sucker for grand gestures and had always secretly hoped someone would add a soundtrack to her life at key moments, as though it was the end of the Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink. Nicole didn't care much for downloading things but she had downloaded the two movies onto her old laptop, which was gathering dust under the chest of drawers in the bedroom. So with these as inspiration, Nicole hadn't stood on ceremony, and the other afternoon in the cold, damp Purgatory outskirts, she'd seen and experienced enough to think that the woman she'd fallen head over heels in love with, the beautiful, smart, funny, amazing woman opposite her, needed to know the truth about how she felt. Looking back on it now, Nicole was full of remorse. The only correspondence she'd had with Waverly since then, was a few text messages. Nicole lifted herself from the hips and relieved her cellphone from the back pocket of her pants. She unlocked the screen and scrolled to her and Waverly's message thread, one of the only few she had.

Friday 8.22am

N: Hey you. Did you get home OK? xN

Friday 9.46am

W: Hey! Yes thanks. So tired right now though. XX

Friday 1.41pm

N: Oh my lord, Nedley is driving me crazy today! Hows your day going? Nx

Friday 1.58pm

W: Nedders, what a character. All good here. Wynonna wants us Earp sisters to go out tonight after I finish at Shortys XX

Friday 2.04pm

N: OK please be careful Wave xN

Saturday 1.52am

W: I miss you XX

Saturday 7.03am

N: You're drunk. x

Saturday 11.20am

N: How's your hangover, drunky Mcdrunkerson? xN

 

That was the last of it. Nicole sighed a regretful sigh, exiting the text conversation and feeling stupid for not receiving a reply.  _You can't double text and not get a reply_ , Nicole hissed, upset at Waverly seemingly giving her the brush-off. It may well have been that Waverly  _was_ hungover, and at the hands of her sister, in which case Nicole shouldn't take the conversational silence so personally. Chances were, both Earp sisters were probably face-down on a scratchy bed over at the homestead, still in their boots from the night before. Nicole tossed her cracked cellphone across the coffee table irritably, the iPhone pivoting around in a circle like a spinning top. Nicole watched it spin as she downed the last of her beer. She went to the fridge and brought two more back to the couch.

 

The alarm sounded in the bedroom. Quietly at first, then louder, punctuating the air with its shrill whine. Nicole jerked her head up from the sofa, becoming aware her neck had cricked in the night. With one eye open, Nicole staggered into her cold bedroom and turned the alarm off, picking up the blanket on the corner of the bed and sleepily heading back to the sofa. Her condo wasn't particularly warm, but the rookie cop had made the couch less cold than the rest of the place. She dragged the blanket over her shoulder and knees, allowing an arm to run free and reach out for her phone on the coffee table. Nicole frowned in her sleepy haze, her hand having to negotiate several empty glass bottles before finding the black oblong in the middle of the table.  _Did I drink all these?_

The battery was dead. Nicole vaguely remembered pressing a button in the night to check the time, but to no avail. Her charger was next to the couch in the wall, a permanent arrangement, and Nicole absent-mindedly plugged the useless phone in for some juice. It vibrated to let her know it was doing its thing.

Nicole had only made it as far as switching on the coffee pot when she heard the familiar drill sound of her phone vibrating on the arm of the couch. "What the.." she mumbled, as she approached the beaten-up couch and in haste, knocked the phone from the arm and face-down onto the rug below. Nicole knew whoever was calling was about to get her voicemail, so she picked the phone up quickly and swiped to answer, not seeing who was calling.

Her voice croaked amusingly with her first words of the day. "H-Hello?"

"Good morning," came Waverly's voice, clear and rich through the phone, "how are you feeling, Officer?"

Nicole paused.  _What's going on_.

"I - I'm fine" Nicole's voice reverted to a soft southern drawl in her sleepy state, the beginnings of a hangover commencing painfully in her head.

"That is gooood to hear. Because I was worried for you, y'know, when we spoke last night." 

Nicole's ears pricked and her eyes widened. "Last night?"

Waverly didn't let up. "Or was it this morning? I forget. Remind me, what time was it when you called?"

Nicole held the phone away from her ear, attempting to decipher from the screen information on who'd called whom, and when. The tired redhead couldn't remember how to make the keypad disappear from the screen during a call so she could look through the phone, but it didn't matter as Waverly continued. Nicole pressed the cellphone back to her ear and started at a reply.

"I-I...." she closed her eyes. She had no idea what Waverly was talking about.

"Thought so," came the triumphant, vindicated reply, "you can't remember can you? Nicole." Waverly's voice softened on her girlfriend's name, though with a hint of sympathy. Or was it pity?

The coffee pot whistled and hissed into life in the kitchen, but it's owner wasn't distracted; she was trying to piece together what had happened over the telephone last night, and unfortunately for Nicole, she wasn't doing very well. "I can't confirm or deny anything" she slurred, trying to bluff her way out of whatever was happening.

The phone stayed silent, but for a crackle of static.

"Look Waves, I've literally just woken up, and yes, I can see now that I appear to have had some drinks last night" Nicole admitted, very matter-of-fact, but grimacing as she cast her eyes over the litany of boozy evidence on and under her coffee table. Waverly went to reply, but Nicole cut her off.

"Yep, true story. Gotta go, speak later, byeeee" She chimed, hitting the red 'end' button as soon as the phone came away from her ear. Her arm dropped to her side, and the phone slipped out of her hand and onto the relative safety of the couch, as Nicole bent down slowly to take in the devastation opposite. She used her index finger to hover over empty bottles and count how many there were. "7, 8, 9..." she said to herself, cringing a little with each increased number, finally dragging up a discarded gin bottle by it's neck, which had been resting sideways under the coffee table.

"Gin! Seriously!" She held the bottle up next to her face in disbelief. But it was true. The headache forming at the front of her skull confirmed gin had been involved. Nicole scolded herself for drinking excessively, which descended into anger for allowing herself to drink so much that she had no recollection of what happened after she'd arrived home. Clearly she and Waverly had spoken on the phone, but beyond that was a heavy fog, one which was laced with an overwhelming desire to eat pancakes. Her concentration on last night's occurrences was broken momentarily, as her phone vibrated once more into life, muffled by the soft fabric of the couch. Nicole stared down suspiciously at the black, plastic bringer of scary news, praying it wasn't about to unveil another drunken deed she had no memory of. She blinked some heavy blinks, her eyes stung with tiredness, and brought the phone up to her face. It was a text message. Guess who.

'Charming. Call me later douchebag XX'


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sober Nicole finds out what drunk Nicole had to say to Waverly last night....how will it affect their burgeoning relationship? This chapter should really be called The Evils Of Drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like the idea of drunk Nicole, showing a bit more vulnerability, and generally being a flirty little devil. This thread was initially a short story and now it's turned into the slow burn of the century - I hope you like it this way? If not.....I don't know.

Several hours had passed since the last exchange between Waverly and Nicole, punctuated by Waverly's text requesting the young deputy call her later. It hadn't been that hard for Nicole to leave it a good few hours before calling; since coming off the phone she'd crept around her living room in horror, picking up the empty glass bottles and scrolling through her cellphone call history to try and gain some clarity on what had occurred. What she saw didn't seem to make sense, based on how she'd felt when she'd flung herself in the door arriving home last night, angry at herself for revealing her love for Waverly so soon into what she'd hoped would be a relationship. Nicole had felt regret, and had rallied herself not to mention it again, and hoped it would go away. She'd blinked confusedly at her phone, her finger tracing the touch screen up and down in an attempt to understand what transpired in the small hours of the morning. Once the empties had been placed into a black trash bag and out of the way, she'd wiped down the coffee table brusquely, after all it wasn't antique and it certainly wasn't dear to her. A flash of a memory from last week - Nicole sat on top of the coffee table, her legs placed firmly on the ground, and Waverly sat straddling her, her perfectly-formed arms resting around her neck - was almost as painful as the dull thud of too many alcohol units hitting her dehydrated brain. Nicole cleared away the small mess she'd created, and laid back down across the couch, dragging the blanket back over her, and drifted quickly towards sleep. Nicole was experienced at quite a few things, not least one of them being the ability to sleep off a hangover. She'd had today off work, luckily, but had a shift tomorrow: Sunday. Waverly day. _Anytime in the week that ends in 'day', is a Waverly day,_ Nicole said softly out loud, her eyes closed and she fell into a deep sleep.

Waverly found the time between her last text and when eventually Nicole did decide to call, frankly intolerable. She'd checked her cellphone several times throughout the day, scowling at the text that came through from Chrissie Nedley, as it wasn't from Officer Haught.

'How was your Friday night, biatch?' Chrissie had texted.

Waverly rolled her eyes and didn't bother to reply. It wasn't who she wanted to hear from, and besides, she'd wished Chrissie would stop with the whole 'biatch' thing, it was funny the first time but not over and over. But Stephanie kept laughing at it so it stuck.

The youngest Earp tried to preoccupy her mind with other things through Saturday lunchtime. She'd tidied the living room and kitchen - Wynonna had 'had a moment' earlier and the whole place looked like it'd been hit by a twister, leaving a trail of devastation - and packed away the last few little gifts Champ had given her into a cardboard box, ready to be removed from the house. Waverly had only kept those things because she hadn't even realised they were still there; when she looked at the little fluffy horse Champ had won for her at a fair, it didn't mean anything to her now. So she'd gathered all the little trinkets and shoved them into a dusty box ready to pass on to someone or something more deserving - perhaps the trash.

Wynonna had been hanging around the place on Saturday afternoon, trying to read one of Waverly's books on Famous Lawmen she'd urged her to look at. For the most part, Wynonna had genuinely attempted to get into the book, and find it interesting, if only to appease her eager sister. But it was hard going, not many pictures. Wynonna had rolled her eyes and tutted loudly whenever Waverly would pass by the couch, indicating she was finding it difficult to enjoy. Waverly had snatched the book from her hands.

"If you're not going to try, Wynonna, don't even bother" She'd snapped impatiently.

"But - " Wynonna protested half-heartedly, secretly pleased the book was gone.

"Honestly," Waverly said to herself under her breath, looking down at the book and flicking through the pages knowledgeably, "you can't just do something half-assed y'know."

"Totes"

Waverly slapped the book flat down on the round table of the kitchen and stomped upstairs, the apparent irritation over Wynonna's reluctance to read the book in truth masking her real irritation: _Why hadn't Nicole called yet?_

Waverly curled up gently onto her bed into a ball, and pulled one of her pillows closer, angling it down to her body. She looked up at the worn wardrobe opposite, and suddenly her eyes felt heavy. She allowed the sleepiness to course over her, closing her eyes and drifting into a dream.

<thud>

Waverly's eyes snapped open with the loud bang of a glass of water hitting her nightstand next to her head. Wynonna.

"Wakey wakey, you've been sleeping for like, an hour, and I'm bored" Wynonna towered next to her.

"Man," Waverly protested, "you couldn't let me nap a little longer? How often do I nap? Only when necessary."

Wynonna nodded a little in agreement, but she still wanted her little sister to get out of bed and amuse her. Wynonna sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," she recollected, "Is Nicole still coming around tomorrow?"

Waverly took a gulp from the glass of water, her eyes looking away from her sister, "Umm, yep, believe so?"

"Cool. I'm gonna be here too, that's OK right? That was the plan wasn't it, girls only? Maybe I'll get some drinks in, y'know, make an effort. Or something." Wynonna quipped, the idea of her being in charge of drinks not lost on either of the Earp girls.

"Yup, that is the plaaan" Waverly replied, extending her words, trying to play it cool. _She has no idea_ _anyway_ , she thought.

"OK baby girl"

Wynonna gave a short smile and pinched Waverly's cheek, before she rose from the bed and headed out through the doorway. Waverly watched her older sister slink out of the door and back to the kitchen, where she'd heard a muffled cellphone ringtone calling out. Waverly sat up on the bed, her pulse rising just a little, but it dropped again just as quickly when she heard Wynonna answer the phone, clearly in conversation with someone. It was Wynonna's cellphone, and not Waverly's. _Seriously_ , thought Waverly, _why hasn't she called?_

 

By the time Nicole was in a fit state to have a coherent conversation which she was going to try really hard to steer away from love, and well, just more declarations of love, it was late afternoon, and it had turned dark outside. Nicole had showered and changed, and sat down on the couch, last night's apparent scene of the crime, her elbows on her knees, holding her iPhone just in front of her.

_This is ridiculous._

Nicole found Waverly's details in her phone, and hit the green 'dial' button. She rocked back onto the couch, nervously awaiting the call to be picked up. She didn't have to wait long.

"Oh, hey," came the overly-breezy greeting.

"Hey" Nicole replied.

"Thanks for finally calling," Waverly went straight in, "I thought you'd forgotten me or something."

Nicole wasn't rising for the compliment Waverly was fishing for. "Nope. Just had a few things I needed to do around here first, took me some time". Nicole thought she heard a muffled snort at the other end of the line.

"Of course, of course, what were you doing there, a few things to clear up?"

The redhead quickly skirted her eyes around her living room in a brief panic, somewhat irrationally starting to think Waverly was watching her, or could see her. _What does she know?_

"Uh....I had some bottles to clear up from last night and - "

"And did that take long? Reckon there were quite a few, based on..." Waverly let the sentence linger in the air.

Nicole closed her eyes in annoyance. "OK Waverly, what exactly happened last night? I get it, I was drunk. So drunk, I don't remember what I did. Which is unusual for me. I drank.....gin, for God's sakes."

There was a pause.

Waverly continued the conversation. "Are you really telling me you don't remember what we talked about? You called me, do you even remember that?"

Nicole couldn't remember a thing. A very vague recollection of checking her phone in the night was about all she could draw from her memories, drowned out by beer and gin. _Ugh,_ Nicole breathed.

"You'll have to tell me Waves. It couldn't have been very coherent - was I just talking garbage?"

The other end of the line, Waverly shifted around on her bed, sitting cross-legged. Wynonna had popped out and she was home alone. She was amazed that Nicole didn't remember their conversation, it was only a few hours ago, but truth be told, Waverly only had a thin grasp on it too, because she'd been drinking with Wynonna a couple of hours before her heart fluttered seeing her cellphone light up at around 1.00am this morning.

"Waverly?"

"You know what," Waverly propositioned, "how about I just run through it all when you come round tomorrow, hmm?"

"Yes, that... or you just tell me right now." Nicole responded impatiently.

Waverly cleared her throat in preparation to begin the reveal. She'd taken some pleasure in Nicole not remembering what had transpired between them over the phone, and it wasn't often that Shorty's barmaid had the tactical upper hand on her, so she had clung on to her position of relative authority. The other end of the line, Nicole rolled her eyes, exasperated at this game. _The one time! I'll bet Waverly is just *loving* this_ , she thought.

Waverly squirmed about on top of her bed, adjusting her position before launching into her next sentence. She felt a sting and realised she'd settled down on top of the plug to her phone charger, and it'd bitten her right in the -

"Waverly Earp!" Nicole hollered down the phone, the waiting getting to her.

"Christ in a sidecar!" Waverly yelped, jumping up from the three-pronged object which had nestled under her petite derriere. She threw it across the room and it flew under her wardrobe. Waverly scowled.

Nicole looked at her watch. _I really don't have time for this,_ she said to herself, _Waverly's having making fun at my expense again and it pisses me off._ Meanwhile, Waverly had gathered herself with a slow, measured breath outwards, her hand outstretched in front of her, in a tie-chi / zen-like motion.

"The thing is," Waverly spoke quietly and deliberately into the microphone of her cellphone, "you called me last night. Well, this morning. I can't remember what time, sometime after midnight. You were drunk. Super drunk. In fact, I've never heard you like that before."

"This much we know. It's not the first time I've ever been drunk, Wave, you do know that?"

"But you started off angry drunk. Y'know? Talking loud and fast at me, as if you were annoyed with me."

Nicole waited for the next snippet of information, as her imagination took over. _Angry? Me? At Waverly? This sounds bad..._

Waverly continued: "But then I realised you weren't angry with me," Nicole breathed an audible sigh of relief, as Waverly went on, "You were angry at yourself, like you said when we were.... well, you know... you were there."

The sense of relief washed over Nicole, as she drunk in Waverly's statement; _Not angry at her, that's good._

"I _was_ there, yes" Nicole said nervously, still waiting for more information.

"At first I didn't really know what you were saying; I couldn't hear properly as you had music going in the background - "

"Music?"

Waverly laughed, "Yup, and your accent was all....." Nicole raised her eyebrows in anticipation, "...southern and cutesy."

"Fuck me," The exclamation fell out of Nicole's mouth and was just as much a surprise to her as it was to the girl on the other end of the phone.

"That came up too..." Waverly said in a matter of fact tone, "..if you'll excuse the expression."

Nicole was horrified. Not only was she being drip-fed an account of her drunken behaviour whilst hungover, she'd called Waverly whilst hammered on gin, spoke in her native accent which she'd tried hard to shed, and played _music_ at the same time, for God's sakes. Nicole swiftly moved to her CD player, tucked in the corner of her little kitchenette, and pressed 'Eject'. The CD tray slid open. Inside was a once-shiny generic disc, with marker pen across it that read 'Do NOT play when drunk'. Nicole slapped a hand against her forehead.

"Okay...." She said, to steady herself more than anything.

Waverly, at the other end of the phone, was well into her stride at regaling the tale. However she lowered her voice for the next piece of information.

"Once I'd managed to understand what the hell you were saying, you'd called me to say you wished you hadn't told me you.....you...."

"I know" The deputy interrupted, sensing Waverly didn't quite want to say the words.

"Yeah," the young Earp continued, "...but it was so confusing, because you said you wished you hadn't said it, but then you just went ahead and said it again."

_Said what? Said what again?_

Nicole stuttered. Her voice cracked and and burst into an incredibly nervous laugh. "S-sorry Wave, just back up for me, said what, exactly, again?"

There was a pause.

"That you love me."

Nicole stood stock still in the middle of her living room, her hand covering her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. After trying to drown her sorrows over the regret of declaring her love to Waverly, she went ahead and called Waverly in the midst of the drunkenness and told her exactly that - she'd wished she hadn't said it. But just for good measure, Nicole wanted to let Waverly know that in case she wasn't sure, she loved her anyways.

"So anyway..." Waverly traced a finger over the sheets on her bed, "that was super confusing. And then you told me all the things you wanted to do to me..."

"I did _what?_ "

Waverly laughed. "Some sounded pretty cool. Others, I gotta admit I wasn't really sure what they were. I think some names for things you'd just made up."

Nicole had crouched down into a ball in the middle of her living room, perching on the balls of her feet, the phone still pressed against her ear. "Waves" she started, apologetically.

"You don't have to apologise, it was adorable," Waverly's smile seemed to radiate down the line, "but at times, somewhat..."

"Don't say it"

"....dirty."

The flame-haired deputy crawled to the couch and rested her head on the cushions, seeking some kind of impossible solace from the horror that was unfolding over the phone. She'd had a habit of getting more confident than usual when she drank, particularly when she drank gin. Nicole also had a habit of getting incredibly flirtatious in that state too, as many a woman across the state could testify.

Waverly had enjoyed being in control of this situation. But she paused a moment as she realised Nicole was obviously deeply embarrassed at her behaviour, and as much fun as it was, she didn't believe Nicole would want to say those things like that if she had been in control of her faculties.

"Ugh" was all Nicole could say into her cellphone, clinging to the couch.

"There was more, but, to be honest it's all water under the bridge now. For some reason you had your cellphone on speaker too?" Waverly enunciated the last part of the sentence, so Nicole knew Waverly found this weird.

"I don't know why I'd have it on speaker" Nicole groaned, not really caring, "I just wish I'd gone to bed when I got in and none of this mess woulda happened."

"Aww, but then I would have missed out on drunk, dirty Nicole," Waverly pressed one step further and husked into the phone, "My Officer Haughtstuff".

Nicole didn't entirely approve of that nickname. True, when Waverly whispered it to her it made her feel all goosepimply and light-headed for a moment, but nevertheless the young deputy didn't want it to catch on. She coughed and cleared her throat.

"Yup, OK, let's leave that to one side for now," Nicole requested. She paused. _When did all this happen? I thought the battery died on my phone?_

"Waves, how long were we on the phone for?"

Waverly looked upwards to recollect. "About twenty minutes I'd say?"

"And how did it end? You don't have to tell me exactly, did I just pass out or what?"

Waverly transported her mind back to the conversation early this morning, to ensure she gave Nicole an accurate response. "No, no, we said goodbye. But your cellphone died about halfway through the conversation and I called you back on your work phone. Remember?" Nicole wouldn't have remembered. "Oh." Waverly said, knowing this was brand new information.

Nicole was startled. She'd had a drunken phonecall with a girl, talked dirty, all that stuff, on her work cellphone? _Holy Jesus_ , she thought, worried. She scrambled around the living room trying to remember where she'd left it, suddenly remembering it usually lived in the belt of her uniform. She strode into the bedroom where she'd laid yesterday's uniform onto the small, wicker chair in the corner and found her cell tucked between the folds of her shirt and pants. She flicked it on and went straight to call history. There it was; Waverly Earp's number received, at unholy o'clock, duration of call nine minutes and 30 seconds.

"Nicole? Are you still there?" Came the fuzzy voice down the line as Nicole moved around her condo.

"Yeah, I'm here" She replied in a confused tone.

"Maybe, I should just....go." Waverly said, sounding disappointed.

Nicole immediately felt remorseful. She couldn't let another interaction between them end badly. She wanted to be with Waverly so badly, to be in her personal space, against her and breathing in her delicate scent, and she didn't want to part ways again on a negative note. But Nicole was a diligent officer, and the thought of a work phone being used for her to sex-talk with her girlfriend made her worried. Worried Nedley would find out and fire her, and worried other people would find out and Waverly would be outed before Waverly was ready. Nicole screwed a hand up into a fist.

Waverly folded an arm across her chest, underneath the one holding the phone. _This call feels weird all of a sudden_ , she thought.

The reply finally came.

"It's probably best if we say goodbye now Waves, but - " Nicole paused, remembering how she'd left their tryst in the Jeep, remembering that she'd been spilling her heart out over the phone this morning, and mustered some very deliberate words. "Whatever I said to you, it must have been the truth. I don't care whether it was rude, dirty, or whatever. I was probably telling you exactly what I felt and I'm not going to apologise for that."

At the other end of the call, Waverly began to smile.

"And if it's still OK, I'd still like to come to yours tomorrow, so you can fix my shirt."

Waverly broke into a cheesy smile. "Of course!"

"Because, darn it, I only have seven of 'em, and Nedley won't get me any more" Nicole joked back.

Waverly breathed a sigh, relieved Nicole seemed to be taking things OK. Plus it was _more_ than OK for her to come over tomorrow. "Yes, please, it'd be good to see you after all _this_ business."

"Be there for eight?"

"Eight pm it is." Waverly confirmed.

They said brief goodbyes and the call ended. Waverly fell backwards onto her bed, dreamily gazing up at the ceiling light, a broad smile across her face, one which had lit up so many rooms and, unbeknownst to her, hearts too. Nicole was going to be there tomorrow, Waverly imagined, _in my house, my kitchen, my bedroom...._ her thoughts became clouded with different emotions. She bit her lower lip in concentration. So much to plan, so little time. Waverly jumped off the bed and headed quickly to her notepad, tucked into the top drawer of her dresser. She knew exactly what she needed to do now: Make a list.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole heads to the homestead, where she hopes Waverly can make her uniform like new, with sunshine and loveliness - and her sewing kit. That's if she can keep her mind on the job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it seems I now can't stop adding chapters to this story, which I originally intended to be a one-pager. But I like these girls being into each other so I'll keep going until someone messages me to politely tell me to jog on. Oh btw, Wynonna's at the homestead too for this little number, so the three of them decide to make it a night. (Not like that, what do you think this is?)

"Well hello, officer" Came the intentional over-the-top greeting.

"Hey Wynonna" Nicole smiled, entering the house as the eldest Earp sister ushered her in.

Wynonna closed the door behind Nicole and a shrill wind whined as she turned the key in the lock. The fire in the living room cracked loudly with fresh wood meeting hot flames, and the warming smokey scent from it was welcoming.

"Hey," Waverly smiled invitingly, as she stood at the bottom of the stairs, leaning up against the wall, "can I, take your jacket?"

Nicole had nearly come over straight from work, but she'd tired of her starchy shirt and don't-mess-with-me boots, so she'd quickly driven home and threw her civilian clothes on, as she liked to call them. Waverly was almost disappointed she wasn't met with the officer in uniform, her masculine outfit a definite turn-on, but Nicole looked just as pretty in her regular clothes.

Unzipping her hooded parka jacket, Nicole passed it to Waverly, who graciously placed it on a coathook under the stairs, over her own blue jacket.

"Bring anything good?" Wynonna bumped her shoulder into Nicole's, looking down into her hands expectantly.

'Actually, I have..." Nicole retorted, holding up a bottle of wine, "...although I don't know if anyone's in the mood to drink it?" 

Nicole was painfully self-conscious of the drinking mishap in the early hours of yesterday morning, and she was also aware Waverly had been drinking a few times this week too. But she didn't want to turn up to the Earp's with nothing at all, and chocolates just didn't seem right for these girls.

Wynonna grabbed the bottle at the widest point and headed to the kitchen drawer. "This'll do fiiiiine, thanks Haught."

Waverly tutted disapprovingly. Wynonna and Nicole had a work relationship, as colleagues at the sheriff's office, so she should have expected Wynonna would refer to her by her last name, endearingly. But secretly Waverly didn't want her sister to call her lover by her surname, it made her feel removed. Nicole didn't care, in fact Wynonna seemed to be in a pretty good mood this evening, and she didn't want to upset Waverly's sister outside of work in any way.

Wynonna pulled a corkscrew from the kitchen drawer and set to work on the wine, away from the pair. Waverly moved close to Nicole.

"Hey you" She smiled, rocking on her feet, upwards level with Nicole's face.

"Hey yourself" Came the dimpled reply.

"Hey, can someone give me a goddamn hand with this?" Wynonna yelled, not turning away from her battle with the bottle opener.

Nicole moved quickly towards her. "Sure," she laughed, amused by the elder Earp's struggles, "let me help you with that." Wynonna wasn't weak by any means, in fact over the past few weeks she'd gained a lot of muscle strength, but this bottle seemed to be beyond her tonight.

The cork popped resoundingly and Nicole held the laden corkscrew in the air with a degree of triumph, a slight raised eyebrow and smug expression directed towards Wynonna.

"Yuh-huh, I loosened it for you." Wynonna pulled a face back at the officer, snatching the bottle once more and directing it straight into a tumbler.

Nicole turned her head to look at Waverly. Waverly loved that Nicole was strong. She was of an athletic build anyway, and Waverly had observed how Nicole's slight girlish muscles sometimes pulsed under the confines of the standard-issue black shirt of hers, indicating there was some power there. She had no idea if Nicole was built for speed or stamina,  _but I hope I find out_ , Waverly thought. Nicole winked at the admiring young Earp.

"Come on retards, get in here whilst it's warm" Wynonna called out. She didn't care what people thought; whether it was her history, how she looked, or what she said.

Waverly shook her head, half-disapproving but slightly amused at Wynonna's devil-may-care approach to having guests. 'Let me just get a drink for Nicole, 'k?" She yelled at her sister, who'd jumped onto the couch near the fireplace.

"What can I getcha? God, this seems awfully familiar..." The irony wasn't lost on Waverly.

Nicole was playing the long game tonight. "What are you having?"

Waverly opened a couple of cupboards, and then the refrigerator. "Mmm, hard to say, the choices are somewhat limited....it's basically coffee....or wine." She turned to Nicole, contorting her face into an apologetic grimace at the lack of options.

"Guess it's wine then but Wave - please - just a small glass."

Waverly was sensible to Nicole's request. She grabbed the bottle back from Wynonna and poured it into a wine glass as she walked back into the kitchen, handing it to Nicole. Their hands brushed as the glass was passed between them. Waverly felt a flutter in her chest.

Wynonna shouted back at their guest from the couch.

"Hey, so Nicole, are you staying here tonight or what?"

Nicole flushed red at the question. "Uh, no, I don't think so? It's a school night for me." She laughed nervously.

"That doesn't matter" Wynonna yelled back.

Nicole raised her voice slightly in reply. "Well, I wasn't planning on it?"

Waverly placed her hand in the crook of Nicole's bent arm at the elbow. "You weren't?" She said quietly.

 _What?_ Nicole said to herself,  _I didn't think this was on the cards?_

"Whatever Haught," Wynonna sneered affectionately, "you don't have to drink, just if you wanna stay here you can, y'know?"

Waverly turned to look at the back of Wynonna's seemingly oblivious head, and back at her girlfriend in front of her.

"Waverly, I can't" Nicole said with a tinge of regret, "I've got work tomorrow, and I  _really_ need to get in early and be super squeaky clean."

The petite brunette in front of her couldn't hide her disappointment, but she tried to anyway. Not one to dwell on negativity, Waverly's eyes brightened as she attempted to inject the positivity back into the conversation.

"Well let's make the most of the next few hours then" Her eyes sparkled.

 

As the evening had wore on, the fire had burnt down from a formidable roar to crackling, white-hot embers, approaching the end of their use. The girls had put several cuts of wood onto the fire at different intervals to keep it going, enjoying the warmth it provided in the cold Earp house.

Waverly and Nicole were on the couch, and Wynonna sat sideways over the blue armchair next to it, her long legs dangling over the side. A well-loved blue blanket covered Waverly's legs as she sat with them underneath her, and Nicole sat casually next to her, half-turned towards the two Earp girls so she could keep in the thick of their fast-paced conversation. A couple of hours ago, Waverly had taken Nicole's ripped work shirt from her, and began to work her little fingers in and out, in and out, putting all her sewing skills to good use. Wynonna had asked how Nicole had ripped her shirt, and the officer had prepared an answer that was just the right side of ambiguous so that Wynonna would not find it interesting at all, and therefore not realise it was because her sister, who was sat next to them, had pulled it open too quickly in order to get to the goods inside.

Wynonna let out a broad yawn.

"Gah, I'm gonna head to bed," she said resolutely, "you two clearly aren't working hard enough to keep me awake."

"G'night" Waverly said affectionately, her sister planting a kiss on the top of her head as she said it.

"Haught." Wynonna winked at Nicole, making a pistol sign with her fingers and pointing it at the redhead.

"Right. Back. At you?" Nicole laughed, not quite sure what was going on.

The Earp heir noisily headed to her room, her boots making a deep stomp on the bare wooden floorboards. The living room fell silent for a minute, punctuated by the occasional crackle from the fire, and distant animal howls some way outside. The orange light of the burning embers flickered across Waverly's face, as she took a sip from her oversized coffee cup. The wine had run out hours ago and the two girls on the couch had opted for caffeine.

"Are you cold?" Waverly enquired, looking down at Nicole's hand nearest her, which had slight goosebumps going up her wrist.

Nicole rubbed one of her arms; "Yeah, that's it, I'm cold." She pretended. Waverly unfurled the blue blanket so it draped across both their laps.

"You know what, why don't we just sit closer to one another, you know, for warmth?" Waverly suggested.

Her guest looked into her eyes, trying to establish if this was a come-on or not. Wynonna had only just gone to bed, and she didn't think it was appropriate to make the first move in Waverly's house if that's not what she was implying. But Nicole ached to be near to her, and wanted to feel the warmth of her touch against her body once more. She shifted along the couch so that they were in close proximity.

"That's better," Waverly said softly, raising her hand to brush away some loose strands from Nicole's face.

Nicole closed her eyes and smiled. Waverly's hands were warm, and her soft touch felt intimate and alluring. Nicole had always been a sucker for anyone touching her hair; heck, it could have been a guy and she would still get the jittery feeling in her stomach.

"Thank you, for fixing my shirt" Nicole said, with a straight face.

Waverly frowned and picked up the black shirt from the floor in front of them, holding it up to take another look. Her sewing had left something to be desired, and her efforts had only served to make an even worse mess of the officer's clothing. The buttons which had been originally ripped off had left too much to do for it to be rectified properly, and despite Waverly's admirable sewing skills, it was beyond repair.

"You. Are. Welcome." Waverly replied, trying to keep a straight face.

Nicole grabbed the ruined shirt from her, and threw it back to the floor. "Say goodbye!" She laughed.

Waverly laughed at the ridiculous attempt, and watched it hit the floor. Her laugh rescinded into a smile, and then her smile faded as she looked back up at Nicole.  _God, she's looking hot tonight_ , Waverly remarked to herself,  _I don't think I can wait any longer._

Nicole noted Waverly's expression had turned from amusement to intensity. Waverly's eyes sparkled with the flicker of the dying fire, and her lips looked soft and inviting. Nicole felt the now-usual sensation of her pants beginning to warm, as she gazed back into the blue-grey ocean of her girlfriend's eyes. She felt intoxicated by the woman opposite; vulnerable and open to whatever she wanted to do, impotent to Waverly's power over her. Waverly's eyes flicked down to Nicole's lips, which looked plump and moist.

Waverly reached and pulled Nicole's lips onto hers, her hand placed behind Nicole's head, guiding their faces together. Both let out a soft moan as they enjoyed the sensation of their tongues touching again, it had felt like an age since they'd kissed so passionately in the back of Waverly's Jeep.

Nicole pulled away from the kiss, as gently as she could so as not to turn off her girl. She had a concerned expression.

"I really,  _really_ want to do this, but your sister is just over there" She whispered, her face hovering millimetres from Waverly's.

The wanting feeling was too unbearable even for Waverly, ever-sensible. "I don't care, Nicole."

Their lips met once again, urgently. The young officer didn't want to do anything which would get Waverly into trouble, or put her in a position which made her uncomfortable. She cared too much for her to do that. Annoyingly, Waverly knew now, just how much Nicole cared.

Waverly's hand slipped under the blanket and rested on the inside of Nicole's thigh, which made Nicole's stomach flip. She may have been wearing denims, but Waverly's hand was firm and she enjoyed the feeling of it being so close to this particular area, which was growing more sensitive by the second. The officer couldn't help but let out a gentle moan of pleasure, which Waverly made a mental note of. She may be inexperienced in sexual encounters with both women and men,  _but right now I am turning this girl on something crazy,_ she celebrated.

"Nicole" Waverly managed to whisper, in between kisses.

"Yes baby"

"Take me to bed"

Nicole looked at Waverly with a serious expression. This wasn't a request for teeth-brushing and pyjamas. Waverly wanted to go to bed with her, in the Earp house, inches away from Wynonna, who was the epitome of the protective older sister. 

 _This could really land me in hot water_ , Nicole said to herself, so wary of all the things that had gone wrong in the last few days.

"Wave, do you really think that's - "

Waverly stood up from the couch, holding onto Nicole's hand. Her face was serious, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"Take me." She repeated.

 

The door to Waverly's room creaked open in the darkness, as metal bent out of shape in the hinge. The dim light from downstairs afforded some illumination into the room, which was chilly from the lack of use in the last few hours. Waverly entered first, leading Nicole by the hand.

Nicole had been reluctant to go with Waverly up to her room. She really wanted to continue what they'd started on the couch, but this felt dangerous. The Earp heir was next door, sleeping with a pistol under her pillow no doubt, and here was Nicole, about to again enlighten her little sister in the ways of girl-on-girl sex. Waverly lead them over to her bed, brushing the covers down to flatten out the creases. As it had been in Nicole's apartment those days ago, shards of light cut across the room dramatically, creating shapes that made no sense in the dark. 

They were both silent, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

Waverly sat down on the side of the bed, opposite Nicole. She reached up and pulled Nicole towards her by her belt, making her stumble forward a step, and proceeded to undo it roughly. Nicole's body jerked with Waverly's intentionally harsh removal, the leather belt singing against the denim loops of Nicole's jeans as the young woman slipped it out of it's place. Waverly looked up, to meet Nicole's gaze. She was seeking approval, rather than permission. Nicole didn't utter a word.

Waverly unbuttoned Nicole's jeans from the top, carefully slipping each metal rivet through its hole, taking her time. Nicole felt herself getting wet at the feeling of Waverly seductively undressing her turning her on with each action. Her jeans were untethered. Waverly roughly pulled the material so they jerked down to her knees, and let out a gasp.

Nicole looked down at her, a knowing smile began to develop across her face. Between her legs she felt hot and wet.

Waverly continued to stare. Nicole hadn't worn any underwear under her jeans. Waverly had pulled them down, expecting to expose lingerie perhaps, but instead, at face level, she admired Nicole's feminine form in all it's glory.

Nicole bent down slightly and placed her hands on Waverly's arms, encouraging her to stand up, her jeans restricting her at the knees. They embraced again. A deep, needful kiss which neither wanted to stop. Nicole frowned with intensity as she kissed harder, moving her hands from Waverly's arms and onto her shirt. She lifted it over Waverly's head and immediately went to work on her pants, not stopping to look at her stomach or breasts, which were imprisoned behind a black bra, soon to be released. Their mouths stayed locked together as Nicole pulled down Waverly's pants, exposing her matching underwear. Waverly smiled as she stepped out of her jeans which were now on the floor.

Nicole stepped back, not caring whatsoever that she was naked from the waist down, and looked at the girl opposite purposefully, with one intention.  _It's go time._


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wayhaught lives up to its name as our favourite pair have a grown-up sleepover at the homestead, all under Wynonna's oblivious nose. She clearly doesn't know what's going on between Waverly and Nicole though, right? Right...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clearly have no life as yes, I bashed out three chapters seemingly in one 24 hour period, but to be honest, I had all this stuff on a Word doc and have just been transferring it into chapters at random intervals. I hope you like what's happening here, it'd be great for some feedback if you're enjoying it? Is it too fluffy / smutty / long or short? Am I describing a weekend away? Also I love writing for Wynonna - maybe her story will be my bit on the side.
> 
> Ooh I also noticed I make Waverly bite her lip a lot - totally not intentional. If this was real life, she'd probably have an infection through all this gratuitous biting. Plus it makes her sound like that lip-biting airhead Anastasia off 50 Shades of Grey. Yuck.

Waverly shot her hand across Nicole and covered the officer's mouth quickly, muffling the undeniable sounds of rampant pleasure. Nicole's body continued to shake a little, mini aftershocks coursing through her, as Waverly threw a leg over and straddled the helpless redhead lying beneath her.

Nicole had desperately tried not to make a sound. She'd tried so hard to stifle her moans of pleasure, increasing incrementally as her girlfriend ran fingers over, around and inside her. Waverly had already experienced the bolt through her body moments earlier; a throbbing, pulsating, earthquake of an orgasm, as Nicole had lifted her legs and gone down on her. Waverly hadn't done exactly the same in return for Nicole, it was something she was still slightly nervous of carrying out.  _What if I do it wrong?_ She'd thought to herself before, _Nicole is way more experienced than me and I want it to be good for her.  
_

Waverly made sure Nicole wasn't about to cry out in ecstasy again, removing her hand gently from it's firm position over her mouth. Nicole's chest rose and dropped with heavy breathing, her body covered in tiny raised bumps of excitement, littered across her pale skin. Nicole sighed loudly, which prompted Waverly to try and cover her mouth again.

"Sorry, sorry" Nicole whispered.

Waverly leant down and pecked a kiss on Nicole's lips.

"I kinda enjoyed hearing you," she beamed, whispering, "but it's way too frickin' loud!"

Waverly snuggled down next to Nicole, who was still catching her breath. Waverly reached down and pulled one of the covers up loosely, covering both of them from the waist down.

"Do you think she heard?" Nicole turned to Waverly, referring to her elder sister sleeping only feet away in the next room.

"Honestly, Wynonna wouldn't hear a chorus of line dancers rehearsing on the stairs" Waverly joked, in a reassuring tone.

The two women affectionately embraced into a hug; Nicole's longer limbs wrapping themselves around Waverly's petite frame, as Waverly nuzzled into Nicole's warm body, making the most of the heat between them before it faded within the cold room. Several minutes passed until Nicole bobbed her head above her girlfriend, entwined around her, and checked the clock on the nightstand.

"Shit, Wave, I've gotta get going."

Waverly tighted her grip around her. "No," she protested, "stay, please stay."

Nicole really couldn't this time. She was terrified that one or more of the things that had taken place this week would bite her on the ass, and she couldn't risk missing her alarm and being late for work tomorrow. She gently pulled away from the pair's warm embrace, and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching down for her clothes. Waverly watched silently as Nicole re-hooked her bra, and pulled her jeans back on - still with no underwear. Waverly let out a disappointed sigh as Nicole finished up getting dressed, one which was only usurped by Nicole's own disappointed sigh as she crouched next to the bed. She placed a hand on Waverly's cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"This was amazing, I wish I didn't have to go" She whispered.

"So don't."

Nicole smiled an apologetic smile. "I really do, I'm sorry Waves"

Waverly was resigned to letting her go. Her eyes flickered with affection as Nicole leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead.

The young deputy tip-toed quietly to the door of the bedroom, and turned to steal one last look at her girl, a vision of beauty wrapped around the bed covers, exhausted from their love-making.

"Speak tomorrow?" Nicole whispered, so quietly she was barely registering a sound.

Waverly nodded eagerly.

The door creaked slightly as Nicole closed it behind her, and navigated her way down the stairs and out of the homestead. Waverly sat up in bed, the headlights of Nicole's cruiser flashing across the darkness of her room, as Nicole's car turned around and slowly made her way out of the yard.

 

Waverly woke late the next morning, and only made her way downstairs as she smelled something delicious in the air. The unmistakable aroma of bacon. She had fallen asleep directly after her lover had left, so hastily got into her pyjamas before Wynonna barged into her room for some reason or other. Waverly wrapped a warm towelling bathrobe around her and headed gingerly downstairs, tying the belt around her as she went. She sleepily went into the kitchen where Wynonna was frying bacon on the stove, along with some eggs. Coffee piped out steam on the round table just across.

"You're making breakfast? You?"

Wynonna pretended to be offended. "Uhhh, yes? Can I not make breakfast for my baby sister anymore?"

Waverly was suspicious. "Yeah, of course, but....why? You never make breakfast? Hell, you never cook at all!"

Wynonna turned to concentrate on the pan in front of her, the hot oil bubbling and spitting against the eggs. "I just wanted to, is all."

The aroma of hot coffee drifted across the kitchen, so Waverly drew herself near and poured a cup for herself, and one for Wynonna. She sat down at the table, and let out a yawn.

"Tired?" Wynonna said, her back to Waverly.

"Yuh-huh" Waverly replied, still halfway through her yawn.

"What time did Nicole leave?"

Waverly wasn't sure. She rose her arm as if to check her wrist watch, realising she was neither wearing her watch, nor it would help her remember what time Nicole left. "Umm, sometime after you went to bed?"

"Oh," Wynonna said shortly, banging a fork against the side of the frying pan, "so that was probably, what, eleven or twelve?"

Waverly's eyes narrowed slightly. "Yeah, something like that" she said suspiciously. _Why is she so interested what time Nicole left?_

The hot fat in the pan crackled and spat loudly, signalling that its contents were ready. Wynonna tipped the bacon and eggs onto a plate next to her on the counter, picked up a plate of lukewarm toast, and brought both over to the table, placing them down carefully onto some mats in the middle.

 _This is very civilised_ , thought Waverly. _She's up to something._

Wynonna began to serve out the breakfast items onto two plates; one for her, one for her sister. Waverly watched in silence, confused as to why her sister, who was usually so grumpy in the mornings, was taking the time for both of them to sit down and eat together.

The elder Earp sat sideways on the wooden chair next to Waverly, picking up a fork in the process. She smiled at her sister, a grin which seemed to be mocking.

"Alright damn it," Waverly clanged her cutlery against her plate, "what is going on?"

Wynonna directed a fork-full of bacon into her mouth. "Nothing" She chewed, the word obscured by the recent bacon entry.

Waverly looked back down at her breakfast, immediately remorseful that she was so suspicious of her sister. True, Wynonna hardly cooked and certainly Waverly couldn't remember the last time she'd made breakfast for them both which wasn't a bottle of finest malt, but she was just so grateful her elder sister was back in her life she quickly resolved to stop doubting her. Apologetically, Waverly resumed diving into her meal.

"Nothing at allllll" Wynonna drawled sarcastically.

"Goddamn it Wynonna, you'd better tell me what's going on or - "

"Or you'll what?!" Wynonna laughed, slapping her fork down on the table.

"Tell me what's going on." Waverly demanded, her face reddening with anger.

Wynonna drew her coffee over next to her plate, tracing her finger around the lip of the cup. She looked down slightly into the dark swirls of the hot liquid, steam emanating out into the air between the two sisters. Wynonna pressed her lips together as she attempted to stifle a smile. Her eyes flicked up at Waverly. "Sleep well?"

Waverly turned her head slightly. "Yes...." she replied, her voice trembling a little, as if she was trying to tell a lie.

"I didn't sleep very well."

"No?" Waverly queried, too quickly.

"Nope." Wynonna let the 'p' pop as she spoke.

The two girls turned to their respective coffee cups, both attempting to concentrate on the swirling black mass inside, their eyes flicking up at each other in rapid intervals to see who would break silence first. It was Wynonna.

"Wanna know why?"

"Nope" Waverly popped back, leaning backwards defiantly in her chair.

A clicking sound came from Wynonna; not quite a tsk, more an unintelligible noise as she sucked in a cheek in her mouth. Either way, it unnerved her sister. Wynonna then shook her head playfully, as if in disapproval, and lent across the table meaningfully.

"You _sure?_ "

Waverly stared back into her sister's dark brown eyes, trying to gauge what she was thinking. _Nah. It isn't what I think it is,_ Waverly said to herself.

Wynonna narrowed her eyes into a half-frown. "At first I thought we were being burgled," she widened her eyes, "or worse," her eyes widened still, "Revenants." She croaked dramatically. Waverly continued to listen. "But instead, imagine my surprise, when - "

Wynonna was interrupted by a cellphone buzzing loudly next to them, vibrating violently across the harsh surface of the wooden table. It buzzed and buzzed, moving itself along in a jerky motion, waiting for someone to answer. It was Wynonna's iPhone, but she didn't care to answer it right now. Wynonna scowled down at her cellphone for interrupting her. Waverly swallowed nervously.

"Actually.....why don't you see if you can guess?" Wynonna smirked.

Waverly shifted nervously about in her chair, worried why Wynonna was toying with her, and unsure of how she should respond. Her sister may have missed out on years of living with Waverly, but she sure knew what Waverly was thinking and certainly when she was trying to avoid something.

"Ummm, imagine your surprise when.....when...." She searched desperately for an answer. Anything, anything to plug the deafening, pregnant, loaded atmosphere that was building with each word being batted across the table between the two Earps. She'd tried hard to think of something which would deflect this conversation away from why Wynonna couldn't sleep last night when Nicole was going down on her younger sister next door, but words eluded her, and Waverly let out an exasperated breath of surrender.

"Wynonna..." She said, tiredly urging her sister not to go any further. Wynonna stopped tracing her finger around the rim of her coffee cup. She pulled close to Waverly and stared her square in the face.

"I. Heard." Wynonna said, slowly, decidedly. "Everything."

 _Oh shit_ , Waverly gulped.

"You heard.....what, exactly?" Waverly tried again feebly to deflect Wynonna's questioning, but she looked into Wynonna's eyes with a sense of resignation. The game was up. Wynonna sat back in her chair.

"Well...." she paused, looking for exactly the right words, "....it sounded an awful lot like - how can I put this - " Wynonna looked up to the sky and then down resolutely at her sister, who was hanging on her words:

"...an awful lot like you and Nicole having sex."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoomp, there it is.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cat is out of the proverbial bag for Wayhaught. Or is it? Writing these summaries is frankly exhausting

The cell phone screen darkened as Nicole held her finger to the slim button on top. 'Slide to Close' it recommended, and Nicole obliged, turning her phone off dutifully. She let out a sigh and placed it into the drawer at the top of her desk, sliding it shut. Nicole had gotten to work forty five minutes early, had bought coffee and pastries, and had ensured her cellphone, the source of Nedley's irritation, was definitely switched off. As she pulled a manila folder from the pile in front of her, Nicole was aware a ruddy-faced individual was approaching her desk. It was Sheriff Nedley.

"Officer Haught, uh, when you have a moment I'd like to see you in my office please. This morning."

The Sheriff looked Nicole in the eye, and headed towards his office. Nicole swallowed nervously. _Oh shit,_ she thought, _he must know. He must know about the call on Friday night on my work phone from Waverly._

Nicole's eyes darted around the station, desperately trying to see if there were any clues as to what her fate may be. Nicole kicked herself again for letting herself get so drunk on Friday night, and for whatever she'd said to Waverly which had been described, inexplicably, as 'dirty'. The station threw up no clues. There was a gentle hum of noise coming from across the hall, Agent Dolls no doubt working on something top secret and important _which was too complex for her, no doubt,_ Nicole said to herself bitterly. She felt her stomach begin to knot as she imagined what Nedley would say to her, and how his disappointed face would haunt Nicole forever. Once a star in her academy class, now on the verge of being kicked out of her first job for fraternising with the locals in a way which blew apart the boundaries of 'protect and serve'. Nicole's palms became cold and clammy, her disposition becoming more nervous by the second.

"Nedley didn't say when he wanted to see me," Nicole whispered under her breath, "so maybe I can extend the pleasure of getting my ass kicked for a little bit."

Nicole quickly looked at the mountain of dog-eared files next to her on the desk, and scooped them up into her arms. She decided to re-arrange the station's filing system, which just so happened to be at the other end of the building from Nedley's office, to buy herself some time. Inside the Sheriff's office, Nedley watched as the ginger deputy hastily picked up the stack of folders and marched quickly out of the office and down the hall, his eyes narrowing as she disappeared from view.

 

The door slammed shut behind Waverly as she darted quickly out of her house. Her car keys jangled in her bag as she searched for them urgently, heading directly towards her jeep and not looking back at the homestead. Around twenty-five minutes earlier, Wynonna had concluded a cat-and-mouse interrogation across the breakfast table, culminating in her asking her sister if Nicole was more than a friend. Waverly had burnt crimson with embarrassment at this questioning and, although Wynonna was spot-on, she couldn't bring herself to admit she and Nicole were an item. At least not yet. Waverly made her excuses and hurriedly dressed, looking to leave the house as quickly as possible before Wynonna could question her further. Waverly found it difficult to lie, and even more so to her big sister for whom she cared so much.

"Pick up pick up pick up" Waverly said breathlessly, climbing into her 4x4 and pressing her cellphone to her ear. Straight to voicemail. "Damn it," Waverly exclaimed, turning over the engine. Before putting it into Drive, she re-dialled.

"Come on, come on Nicole, why aren't you answering?" She whispered impatiently. There was no dial tone, but a click:

"Y'all have reached Nicole Haught, leave me a message or y'all can call me later" The message played again.

"Damn you and your stupid, cute accent and stupid voicemail" Waverly spat, waiting for the beep. The voicemail beeped. "Nicole. It's me. Please call me as soon as you can. I need to speak with you." Waverly said purposefully down the phone, pausing for a moment. "And your voice is all cute on your message, goddamn it."

Waverly pressed the red button to exit the call, and frowned. She shrugged, put it into Drive and tore off out of the yard.

 

The whole way into town, Waverly looked at her cellphone, anxiously checking to see if Nicole had called back, or even sent a text in response to her voicemail. Nothing. Waverly drove erratically up the long stretch of straight road heading into the centre of Purgatory, her destination: the Sheriff's office. Waverly began to think back over the previous evening, how Nicole had looked effortlessly beautiful when she came over, armed with her ruined black shirt, and how helpless Waverly was to her desire when she'd gotten close to her on the couch. Waverly felt happy and sad at the same time. When she and Nicole had gone upstairs, it was passionate and loving, exciting and scary. She enjoyed being dominated by Nicole but Waverly had also tried to be more forthcoming in her efforts, trying to convey to her girlfriend all the things she felt when she looked at her. Waverly had been mindful of her sister next door, and had tried to keep Nicole quiet, but a small smile dawned across her face when she thought back to Nicole's hips rising, her back arching, coming for Waverly. Waverly felt her stomach do a little flip at the celebratory recollection of Nicole's body, completely vulnerable, and her brown eyes gazing deeply back at her. Waverly had really enjoyed their sexual encounters so far, and had surprised herself at how she'd taken to them so quickly. She laughed quietly to herself thinking how ridiculous that sounded. _Of course girls should know what to do, they know what feels good and what doesn't, right?_ She'd said to herself. And that logic did apply, but Waverly had still been reluctant to give her absolute whole self physically to Nicole, doing the things Nicole did back to her, and making herself completely vulnerable like her girlfriend had been. Waverly also wondered why she hadn't given her whole self emotionally either, by refusing to admit to her sister - the closest person in the world to her - that she was in a relationship with a girl, and for keeping it a secret from the world. Nicole had been patient, wonderfully patient, and had told Waverly she could have all the time she needed. But Waverly knew at some point that opinion would fade, and it terrified her to think Nicole would lose interest or start to look elsewhere for someone who was less work than Waverly Earp. Waverly scoffed as she realised she'd teared up at the thought Nicole could leave her, the idea being totally unbearable to her.

 _If Nicole decided she didn't want to be with me anymore_ , she thought, _I don't know what I'd do._

Waverly felt so stupid. She felt like a little girl again, at the mercy of her elder sisters and feeling the pain of being the butt of Purgatory's jokes. This time Waverly couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her face. She pulled the jeep over to the side of the road abruptly, and rested her head on the steering wheel, in between her hands. Waverly let out a sob as she broke down into tears, the familiar feelings and emotions of feeling incredibly alone and misunderstood, yet wishing so hard to be understood reared their ugly head. She thought of Nicole, beautiful Nicole, and how happy she'd been since she'd become friends with her, and how becoming more than friends had felt like a gap she didn't realise she had, had been filled. Waverly felt an ache deep inside, and she brushed away the salty tears from her cheeks as they started to slow. She tried to catch her breath.

 _God, I need to tell Nicole what she means to me before Wynonna blows this whole thing wide open and everyone loses their minds,_ she thought. _Because I don't want my sister ruining all the good work we've put in, all the effort we've gone to, to keep it between us, to keep it so incredibly special_.

Waverly fell silent for a moment, her chest loosening from the stilted breathing and hot tears which had run down her face. _Wait a minute_ , she said to herself, _Telling Nicole how I feel? She knows.....of course she knows....I don't have to tell her anything. I'm being absurd._

She brushed her hair from her face, rubbed her mascara-soaked eyes, checking her mirror before pulling back onto the road, sniffing back the tears which had hit her like a landslide. She began to laugh a self-deprecating laugh.

"Oh. My. God. Waverly Earp! You are too crazy. What were you gonna do hey? What were you gonna say?" She smiled and looked into the mirror at her flushed cheeks, still damp with tears, "What were you gonna tell Nicole? Ha ha! What exactly? That she has a nice ass? That Wynonna knows? That I love her?"

The words echoed around her head.

_What?_

Waverly's smiled disappeared and she stared seriously out into the road in front, unblinking.

_What did I just say?_

She thought hard for a moment, seemingly oblivious to the road signs around her advising her she was entering Purgatory. Waverly drove like she was on auto-pilot, navigating her way into town, not quite focusing on the job in hand. She quickly saw a gap outside Shorty's bar, and turned the jeep suddenly into the empty space, the tires squealing under duress. She slammed the handbrake on, and rested for a moment, her heart pounding and her chest thumping.

"I know what I just said," she whispered, a curious expression creeping across her face, "I.....love her?"

 

Nicole rubbed her eye tenderly, stood at the bottom of a small pair of metal steps and facing a large row of dusty files. She'd climbed up to put some files away; one had slipped from her hand and fell backward, hitting her in the eye. She hadn't yelped in pain, rather silently raging at the stinging sensation in her eyeball, and the sore skin of her cheek where the corner of the folder had landed. She'd muttered some curse words under her breath too, just quiet enough so that no-one would hear her.

She was still hiding in the filing room from Sheriff Nedley, hoping he would go out on a call or go to lunch or do something that wasn't speaking with Nicole in his office. Nicole felt her back pocket for a cellphone that wasn't there, remembering it was switched off and in her desk drawer. A head popped around the doorway to the filing room inquisitively. It was one of the other deputies.

'Hey Haught, Nedley's lookin' for you"

Nicole's eyes widened, and again she swallowed nervously. "O-Ok, thanks, I guess" she stuttered back.

Nicole wiped her dusty hands on her khaki pants, before running her hands over her braided hair to make sure it wasn't unruly. Her eyes still felt watery with tears from the pain of the folder hitting her, but Nicole strode out of the filing room in the direction of Nedley's office.

"Come in Haught," Nedley barked from behind his desk, as Nicole approached. "Close the door behind you."

The young officer nodded obediently, and pulled the door closed behind her before sitting down at the empty chair opposite her boss. Nedley was hunched over the desk, his fat fingers clenched together in front of him, his knuckles turning white through the continued pressure on his chubby digits.

"Now, Nicole, I uh....I wanted to speak with you this morning, did you forget?"

Nicole's accent slipped back with her nerves. "Oh no, no sir, I uh.... just had a godfersakin' mountain of paperwork I had to sort."

Nedley nodded. "Well, that could have waited. You always ignore a request from your superiors?" He questioned.

Nicole looked startled. "No! I would never! I mean, I haven't ever done that sir, you can check my file - "

Nedley put his hand up to silence Nicole. He wasn't interested in looking at her file, he'd looked at it plenty of times when the academy told him they were placing a top rookie cop at his station. He'd been so excited at the thought of fresh blood being drafted into his team, eager awaiting the product of the academy and the winner of their hand-gun accuracy competition. Nedley had been surprised, to say the least, when the individual approaching him with a confident handshake on their first day under the stetson was in fact a woman.

"Look, Nicole, I uh...." his eyes didn't meet Nicole's.

 _Fuck_ , she said to herself. _Say goodbye Nicole, this is it, I hope your fooling around with an Earp was worth it._ Her cheeks began to redden.

"....I have something to say to you, and I gotta admit, I'm feeling uncomfortable about it. It's not usually something I do."

Nicole sat motionless in silence, her head beginning to feel light and dizzy; the blow from the folder burned painfully under her left eye. Nedley's eyes cast over Nicole's reddening face.

"Hey um, is everything OK?" He said, softly.

Nicole choked back tears that were forming, her voice wobbling. "Um, yes sir, everything's fine."

The Sheriff's face softened slightly, a look of concern emerging across his weather-beaten face. "You don't seem fine, you've got a red mark and a lump on your face, I'd say you were crying but let's just say your eyes are watering, and you look absolutely shit scared! What is going _on_ , Nicole?"

Nicole's eyes had welled up to the point a single tear glistened down her face, turning hot as it hit the impact mark on her cheek. She smiled through it, trying to brush off anything was wrong, but her smile was pushed out by a frown, as she desperately tried to keep countenance.

"Sheriff....." her voice trembled, "...whatever you're about to say, can I just first say, I am so, so, sorry. SO sorry. I didn't mean it, the thing with the phone, you have to understand, it wasn't _me_. I would never usually act like that...it's just, I'd....I'd had a difficult day and - "

Nedley cut her off.

"What are you so cut up about Haught? I was going to say that I owed you an apology - and I'm not big on sayin' sorry - because I was hard on you the other mornin'. Remember? You were looking at your phone? I came over and gave you a verbal whoopin'...." His voice trailed off as he hoped Nicole would pick up the memory of what took place the other day.

Nicole stared back at Nedley in disbelief. She brought her arm up to her face, and placed her cuff under her nose to stem the embarrassing flow, the uncontrollable emotions had taken over her, as the rookie was gripped by fear of her boss firing her for personal misdemeanours.

"So," she sniffed, "you brought me in here to say - to say sorry?"

Nedley rolled his eyes. "Yep, and you won't hear me say that too often, I don't like it, believe me."

Nicole laughed, a wave of relief coursing over her. She wiped her eyes, wincing slightly in pain as her fingers ran over the sore patch on her cheek. Nedley stared a confused stare at the emotional wreck opposite. He continued.

"So uh.....I guess what I'm trying to say is, I shouldn't have given you such a hard time for looking at your phone. The other boys in here get away with worse than that. I guess I was having a bad day, same as you, by the sounds of things?"

Nicole nodded, attempting to be serious and official. She would have spoken but she knew her voice would crack like a teenage boy.

"We're lucky to have you in Purgatory Haught, you're a good cop and you're learnin' all the time. This is a strange place to live, but you're doing a good job." Nedley said almost forcibly in his warmest tone, the father in him showing just a little. Nicole smiled at the words. Nedley had no idea what they meant to her, for various reasons. The sheriff watched the officer for a moment, then his face hardened once more.

"And that's all you're gonna get. Don't expect to hear me say this again, Haught. I'm not in the habit of apologisin'. So, let's just draw a line under this and get on with our lives, shall we?" His tone increasing in authority.

Nicole exhaled a deep breath. "Yes sir. I would like that."

Nedley looked down at his desk and pointed towards the door. Nicole took the hint, and headed for the exit, turning back as she was halfway out.

"Sir?"

Nedley slowly looked up.

"Thank you, sir." Nicole flashed a smile.

As she closed the door, Nicole puffed out her cheeks and thanked the Lord how things had turned out. She screwed up her eyes, still stinging from tears and confusion, and let out a relieved sigh.

"Someone up there is lookin' down on me" Nicole said quietly, her southern accent slipping out at the outpouring of emotion.

"And someone out here is looking out for you too, I reckon."

Nicole opened her eyes. Across the main desk, the inimitable athletic figure of Wynonna Earp leaned up against the top, the key from around her neck grazing against the wooden surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! As always, if you have any feedback or thought you saw something going differently, let me know! I can't decide whether to keep things as they are, turn them more angsty, have a bit more conflict, or just more dirt. Answers on a postcard.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly races into town to try and get to Nicole before Wynonna does, before the Earp heir blows their (until now) secret relationship wide open! And they would've gotten away with it, if it wasn't for you pesky kids!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waverly hearts Nicole, pass it on

Wynonna slammed the glazed door of Dolls' office closed behind her, not taking her eyes off the redhead who was sat opposite. Seconds earlier, she had ushered Nicole into the empty office and politely asked her to sit down. Nicole had barely enjoyed the jubilation of an apology from Sheriff Nedley sink in before the eldest Earp had requested she have a quick chat in private. Nicole, fond of Wynonna, happily made her way into the office she so rarely was allowed into, and pulled a chair over so she could sit down, absent-mindedly checking over her uniform whilst she waited for Wynonna to close the door.

"So," Wynonna said in a low voice, "have you spoken with Waverly this morning?"

Nicole's eyes broke into a worried expression. "Is she OK? Is everything alright?"

Wynonna waved a blasé hand and pulled a disinterested face. "Pffft" she scoffed, "Waverly's fiiiine, don't worry."

Nicole let out a mildly relieved breath, and waited for Wynonna to continue. She obliged.

"I'll take that as a no then, Haught. OK, that makes this a little more interesting...."

The young deputy frowned, curious as to what could be so interesting to Wynonna, who seemed particularly giddy this morning. She quickly searched back through the morning's events in her mind, hoping to remember something so she wasn't so at Wynonna's mercy in what seemed to be turning into a mini interrogation. Wynonna sat on top of a spare desk, cross-legged.

"......I mean obviously you and I saw each other last night when you came over; shame about your shirt, huh?"

Nicole smiled, remembering the mess that was her work shirt. As she thought back to the shirt, her mind flicked briefly to Waverly, how she'd left her last night, looking back in the darkness at her, sad to be parted again. Her mind then flicked to this morning, and how unexpected Nedley's apology about her cellphone was.  _Cellphone,_ Nicole's mind started to wander,  _where is my cellphone? Oh that's right, I turned it off. Oh crap, I turned it -_

"Uh, hello?"

Nicole snapped out of her own head and was back in the conversation. 

"Yeah? I mean, yes?"

"Um, I think I kind of lost you there officer" Wynonna snorted, but then looking confused, "what was I saying?"

Her colleague began to fidget in her chair slightly, now really concerned as to what Wynonna was quizzing her about. Nicole gathered herself, and looked at Wynonna square in the eyes.

"Something about my  _shirt_ , and also something about me having spoken to Waverly this morning."

Wynonna snapped her fingers and bolted upright. "That's it! Thank you Nicole."

Nicole narrowed her eyes slightly and raised an eyebrow.  _Odd_ , she thought,  _she called me Nicole. She didn't call me by my last name._ Nicole had already had a rough day, and it wasn't even lunchtime yet, so her tolerance for Wynonna's games, despite her fondness for her, was wearing thin. She huffed.

"Alright Wynonna, what's going on? Just tell me, I'm a big girl, I can handle it. If you want to start with why I might want to speak with Waverly this morning, that'd be swell."

As Wynonna opened her mouth, the door to the office swung open wildly and a whirlwind of parka jacket and hair burst in. It was Waverly, panting heavily and red in the face. The ferocity of her entrance made Nicole jump within her chair.

"Hey sis, whatcha doin' here?" Wynonna said, casually.

Waverly threw her bag down on the nearest available desk, and walked directly in between the two girls, the heat of the warm office colliding with her cold cheeks. She alternated looking at Wynonna then Nicole rapidly, as if searching for answers. Waverly spoke despite still being out of breath.

"Oh hey, Wynonna, you're here, I thought.....well I didn't think you'd be here" She said breathily.

Wynonna smiled knowingly "Yup, black badge has a lot going on, thought I'd get to work super early. Me and Nicole were having a little catch up."

'Actually," Nicole interjected innocently, "Wynonna was asking if I'd spoken to you this morning?"

Waverly's eyes widened as her face changed into a startled expression. This wasn't the news she was hoping for. Waverly looked at Nicole almost in pity, as her girlfriend was naive to what was surely a Wynonna tidal wave of questioning, designed to arrive one way or the other, at the topic of what was going on in the adjacent bedroom last night.

"Uh, Nicole, you don't need to take this from  _her,_ " Waverly smiled nervously, pointing at her sister, "in fact I...how about we grab a coffee? Feels like we haven't spoken in  _ages_."

Waverly grabbed Nicole by the wrist and yanked her out of the chair, the officer allowing herself to be led by Waverly but looking confused, as Wynonna attempted to protest.

"Waverly! Waverly Earp! You bring her back right now! Right NOW, you hear me?" 

Waverly's fluffy winter boots made a soft shuffling noise contrasting with Haught's boots making a clickety-clack as they walked quickly down the corridor. Waverly's eyes darted around quickly looking for somewhere private, an empty office or room perhaps, where they could talk undisturbed. 

"What's going on?" Nicole whispered, still being led by her arm.

They headed to the filing room; the scene of the folder injury from earlier this morning. Nicole tutted as she headed back into the room, which was more like a closet, for the second time that day, scowling at the folder in question which was still lying on the dusty floor.

Waverly clicked the door closed quietly and turned to face the confused-looking woman opposite her, the young Earp still trying to catch her breath.

"What have you said to Wynonna this morning?"

"Nothing," Nicole replied, lowering her voice, "we'd only really started talking when you came crashing in." She folded her arms.

"OK, OK," Waverly said to herself, attempting to think ahead to her next move, her eyes looking from side to side. Nicole unfolded her arms, and placed her hand on Waverly's shoulder gently.

"Hey, what's going on? Has something happened?"

Waverly paused a moment.

"She knows."

The redhead shook her head once, not quite following. "Who? Who knows what?"

Waverly looked back incredulously at her girlfriend, not believing she didn't realise what they were talking about.

"Wynonna. She  _knows._ "

"Oh shit! About us?"

Waverly let out an exasperated sigh. "Yes," she said steadfastly, "she heard us last night, when...... y'know. _You know_."

Nicole looked horrified. "When we were - "

"Yes!" Waverly grabbed Nicole's arm with both her hands.

Nicole's mind started running overtime. Initially she was annoyed; Waverly had said Wynonna wouldn't hear a thing whilst they were carrying on, and had Nicole thought for a moment that Waverly's elder sister would even hear them talking, she wouldn't have let Waverly lead her upstairs with that intense expression. Then she started to feel unease; not for herself but for Waverly, who had said previously to Nicole she wasn't comfortable letting her sister know that she had fallen for another girl. Nicole began to look deeply into the blue-grey eyes which were staring back at her, and took one of her hands from her arm.

"Okay. This is....a lot to take in. For both of us," She said soothingly. Waverly closed her eyes and allowed her head to slump downwards in resignation. "But, I think it's gonna be OK," Nicole continued, smiling.

Waverly didn't reply. The whole way into town her mind was racing about what it meant for Wynonna to know she was interested in Nicole, interested in girls. But she couldn't make sense of all the emotions swimming through her head, and before she knew it she'd reached the station and could only concentrate on getting to her girlfriend before her sister did. She'd failed, but at least she had a chance now to avoid having to face Wynonna and put a label on whatever was happening between her and Nicole - if only for a bit longer.

Nicole's thumb rubbed Waverly's hand in between her thumb and forefinger softly, reassuringly. Waverly steeled herself to respond.

"Gosh Nicole....I want to be able to tell Wynonna, I do, but...." The words fell away again as quickly as she'd said them. Nicole could see Waverly was starting to tear. She brought Waverly towards her, wrapping her arms around her affectionately as she brought her in close. Nicole breathed in Waverly's inimitable natural perfume, squeezing her tighter as she felt Waverly grip on to her, burying her hands at the back of her black shirt. The two woman stood silently, sharing a warm embrace.

They tilted their heads to look at one another; Waverly looking up at her taller girlfriend, Nicole gazing back down, noting Waverly's unusually vulnerable appearance. Nicole desperately wanted to kiss Waverly, her heart aching at seeing the woman she loved so upset; it was like physical pain observing that their relationship seemingly the cause of so much heartache to her. She couldn't stand seeing her this way, torn between being open and truthful with her sister who meant the world to her, and being truthful to herself and their relationship. The thought of that burden weighed heavy with Nicole. She would do anything to stop her girl feeling any kind of sadness. Anything at all.

"Maybe, uh..."

Waverly sniffed back a tear. "Maybe....what?"

Nicole continued, "...maybe Wynonna doesn't have to find out. About you - and me. Maybe there's a way that will make all of this go away so you don't have to feel so..." She looked down at Waverly, emotions clouding her mind, "God Wave, I don't want you to feel so upset about....I mean, I don't want you to be sad...."

Waverly looked back up at her.  _What does she mean, something will make all of this go_ _away?_

Nicole brushed some hair from Waverly's face tenderly and continued to speak. She couldn't believe the words that began to tumble out of her mouth, but she couldn't seem to stop them, her voice trembling.

"I can't see you like this. I don't want you to be unhappy. Look how sad this is making you - making us. I uh.... I don't want to be the person to hurt you, Wave."

Waverly broke away from their embrace in disbelief.  _What?_ She said to herself, her mouth open a little in shock. For the third time this morning, Nicole's eyes began to glisten and well up.

"W-w-what are you saying?" Waverly said, her voice increasing in volume, breaking from the hushed conversation.

Nicole couldn't bring herself to say the words. She looked at the young woman opposite, and she cast her mind back to when they first met. Waverly was beautiful, funny, nervous, and adorable. The young deputy was smitten as soon as she exited Shorty's bar, convinced she'd done enough to at least creep into Waverly's thoughts with her confident, flirtatious approach. She went on to thinking about their first date; where again Waverly was nervous, but the nerves soon fell away as the two woman realised how much they were attracted to one another, physically and emotionally, and afterwards Waverly had initiated their first night together, an experience at Nicole's apartment which both had locked into their memories. Her heart started to beat fast, thumping audibly through her chest and through her shirt, so much so that Waverly could hear it.

"I....." Nicole trailed off again, thinking back to the Jeep in the cold, how Champ had upset Waverly and wound Nicole up to the point she wanted to hurt him; how their alone time was snatched away from them in the freezing rear seat of the jeep, when they just wanted to be with one another and no-one else in the world. It was that same day Nicole had said she loved Waverly, blurting it out in the chill of the early evening air. She didn't set out to do it, but the words had been eating away at her since she came away from their first meeting, and although she'd regretted it, it felt  _right_.

"Nicole please, you...you're scaring me" Waverly pleaded, her pulse racing.

The officer thought back to last night, how she and Waverly had snuggled together for warmth, and made love in Waverly's bed as the house dropped in temperature.

"Waves....."

Waverly couldn't believe what was happening. She watched Nicole well up, standing quietly in front of her, clearly trying to summon words to explain what was going on in her mind. Waverly had never really seen Nicole upset; she saw her hurt in the hospital, but not like this. Waverly felt pained at seeing her girlfriend like this. She rubbed Nicole's arm.

"Baby, please, talk to me" She whispered gently to Nicole. Nicole smiled slightly.

" _You_ , called  _me_ , baby?" The redhead said, inquisitively.

"I know right," Waverly joked, "it must be being around you; I find myself saying all kinds of things these days which could only come from you."

Nicole felt the atmosphere lighten slightly, but this was only momentary, as she frowned and tried to concentrate on how she could fix this situation, how she could do something to stop Waverly having to lie to her family. Waverly saw Nicole's expression change again and snapped her hand up to Nicole's face, placing it under her chin to hold her gaze.

"Nicole. Look at me."

The officer blinked slowly, and looked into Waverly's pretty eyes, twinkling in the light of the naked bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Nicole.....you are not the cause of...of.....whatever this is. Please, do not blame yourself for anything. We always knew this was a big deal - and it's still a big deal - and feeling like this about you....about another woman, well....." Waverly smiled, "it's taken me a little while to get my head around it."

Nicole swallowed hard, her throat dry with nerves. She felt herself weaken in Waverly's presence.

"I know, but...."

Waverly drew close to Nicole's face. "No, Nicole, don't finish that sentence." She paused thoughtfully, before continuing. "I need to tell you something."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh! What's she going to say?!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The times are a-changin' down in good ol' Purgatory....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks, lovely readers, for all your comments thus far. They really do keep me entertained/motivated/inspired to write on. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster but unfortunately for you, not one which I'm quite ready to quit! Stupid adorable Wayhaught giving me all the feels.

The light bulb above their heads flickered slightly with an ominous buzz. Waverly had asked Nicole to stop and listen to what she had to say, their hearts thumping wildly in their chests, both tearful at the sight of each other's pain.

"I'm listening" Nicole said softly.

Waverly's tears had dissipated now; her head lost its cloudiness and became clear. Looking up into the eyes of the woman standing close to her, she felt total security and safety in that moment, and even if a bunch of deputies and the Sheriff himself were to burst in, she wouldn't have cared.

"You remember the other day, by the gas station?" Waverly began.

Nicole nodded.

"And.....our phonecall the other night?"

"Yup, I don't think I'll be able to get over that experience quickly," Nicole smiled, still tinged with remorse at her drunken behaviour.

Waverly looked down at her feet, one foot aimlessly traced a circle as she looked to find the words. "Well...I liked hearing you say those things. It was nice."

Nicole found her eyes drying too, the tears that had started to flow as emotions bubbled over had come to a halt. Hearing Waverly say she liked to hear Nicole tell her she loved her made her heart soar. Waverly continued.

"This has been a really confusing time for me. What with Wynonna being all, well,  _Wynonna_ , and me just trying to understand what all of this means, I...." her voice trailed off as she looked up at Nicole once more. This time Nicole didn't look as sad as moments ago, rather her pretty face waiting in anticipation, hanging on Waverly's every word. She watched as Nicole's eyes flicked from Waverly's eyes, to her lips, and back again.

"Nicole....?" Waverly asked, the tone of her voice high.

Nicole moved forward slowly, and drew Waverly close to her once more. She bent her head slightly and kissed Waverly softly on the lips. "Say it," she breathed.

Waverly gazed back, entranced. She took a breath. Her lips began to part, but she was distracted by a scratching noise at the door. Nicole went to speak but Waverly hushed her, holding her finger up and listening intently. The scratching noise came again.

 _What is that?_ They thought at once.

The scratch noise happened again, this time louder and deeper. Waverly tip-toed to the door, and pressed her ear up against it. The scratch came again.

Waverly flung the door open, and outside, scratching her nails against the old wooden door, her sister Wynonna smiled a sideways smile. Waverly groaned at the sight of her meddling sister stood outside the filing room, her being there clearly to try and interrupt the two of them as she scratched her nails at the door for attention.

"Hello girls," Wynonna smiled, looking at Waverly, then craning her neck past to look at Nicole, "doing much, er,  _filing_ _?"_

Nicole puffed her cheeks in a loud breath, looking up at the files behind her, and back at Waverly who was still holding onto the handle of the door. Nicole was slightly irritated that the Earp heir had interrupted them, right before it sounded like Waverly was going to say something important.

Waverly looked to cover for them. "Actually Wynonna," her eyes darted back down to the folder lying on the floor, "we  _were_ doing filing, yes. Uh-huh." She grabbed the creased, dusty folder from the floor and held it up in front of Wynonna's face, waving it from side to side.

Wynonna tutted. "Yep, OK. Whatever. Listen, seriously, Nicole you had a call come over the radio so you'd better get your ass out there before Nedley rips you a new one" she pointed back out into the corridor.

Nicole nodded sagely, and shot a look at Waverly, whose brow had furrowed and looked annoyed. The officer brushed past Waverly to go through the doorway, casting her a glance as she went, and headed down the corridor back towards her desk. Wynonna watched as Nicole's tall form strutted away from them, and she looked back to her younger sister. Waverly expected Wynonna to be looking all smug and pleased with herself. All morning Wynonna had been toying with the pair of them, and whilst Waverly could take a good joke, in the last few hours her feelings had taken a battering. Tiredly, Waverly drew her gaze back to her sister.

Wynonna looked unusually serious. She didn't look smug or pleased with herself, in fact, she looked the opposite. Waverly was suspicious, but she was too tired to second guess what Wynonna might be up to now, or even care.

"Waves?"

Waverly raised her eyebrows. _W_ _hat now._

"Please don't be mad at me."

A scoff tumbled out of Waverly's mouth in the direction of Wynonna.

"I know you've had to push your feelings down your whole life..." Wynonna said tenderly, "...about Daddy, Willa.... and me." she looked at the floor guiltily.

Waverly listened intently as Wynonna continued.

"I'm sorry you've had to do that. You're the strong one, Wave. You're what's held this family together. And here you are again, trying to put a brave face on, trying to hide your feelings when..." Wynonna laughed a soft laugh, "..we should be looking out for you!"

The young Earp looked at Wynonna with loving eyes. Hearing her talk like this was not what Waverly expected, but with each word, it softened Waverly, and she leaned against the frame of the doorway as Wynonna continued. Her sister looked behind to make sure they were alone, and lowered her voice.

"Wave?" Wynonna said, looking at her sister.

"Yeah?" She replied.

Wynonna paused.

"I know about you and Nicole."

Waverly let the words hang in the air for what seemed like hours. The two women exchanged glances, both unsure about what the statement would mean now it was out there. Waverly's stomach began to knot as the reality dawned on her, that someone other than she and Nicole was aware that they'd entered into a relationship. Purgatory was such a backwards, small-minded town, how would they react to one of the infamous Earp girls suddenly being interested in someone of the same sex? Waverly had been plagued by these thoughts ever since the officer had flirted so obviously with her that day in Shorty's, introducing herself as Officer Haught, her eyes flickering with mystery and excitement. Waverly had found herself in a tailspin ever since. She looked back at Wynonna.

"Me and Nicole," she began, "we, uh.....I mean, we....."

Wynonna shook her head to stop Waverly, and placed her hand gently on her sister's wrist.

"Wave? I hate to break it to you, but I've actually known for a long time."

Waverly looked shocked.  _How could she have known?_ she thought to herself.

Wynonna smiled a knowing smile. "Yep, I've known long before this morning, or last night, or whatever the hell you think I know. You see, I've actually probably known about you and Nicole longer than...... well, longer than you have."

Her sister was stunned into silence.

"I've seen how you look at her, how you act around her, and - goddamn it - you're as cute as hell, Waves." Wynonna gushed. Waverly's eyes were wide as she drunk in all of Wynonna's words, which were now coming thick and fast, confusing and liberating at the same time.

"Yes, I did hear you last night," Wynonna looked remorseful, "but I knew you guys were together anyway. I'm not an idiot Waves - " 

Waverly threw her a look.

Wynonna stepped into the filing room and bumped Waverly over a few steps, allowing her to close the door behind her. The elder Earp was acutely aware of what could happen if anyone else in the station could hear their conversation.

"Truth is, I've known you'd fallen for her even before you did."

Waverly continued to stare back, using the silence to gather her thoughts as she attempted to piece together what her sister had said. The whole time Waverly had agonised over whether to say anything to Wynonna, analysing whether she should and how she would go about it, was now all a cloud of dust thanks to her sister pre-empting that difficult conversation. Waverly pulled herself together, and croaked a reply.

"S-so, you already knew?"

Wynonna smiled her winning smile and placed her arm around her sister.

"Baby girl, I knew from the  _start._ "

 

 

Nicole slammed the cell door shut and looked at her watch. It was an hour or so after her shift had officially ended. Hours earlier, she'd had to leave Waverly behind in the company of Wynonna, and Lord knows what had transpired since then. The young rookie had been called out to a disturbance, and since then she hadn't been back to the station nor seen or spoken with either Earp sister since they'd met this morning. Nicole yawned tiredly and trudged back to her desk, her work done for the day.

She opened her desk drawer and switched her cellphone back on, her eyes tiredly reflecting the bright cracked screen coming into life. Nicole rubbed the back of her neck as she waited to see if she had any messages or calls waiting for her. A minute passed until she realised, disappointed, that there were none. Nicole had replayed this morning's events in her mind throughout the day, despite the numerous distractions of calls and jobs she was tearing around Purgatory looking to resolve. She'd been longing to hear Waverly finish her conversation,  _something she'd wanted to tell me_ , but seeing her cellphone with no correspondence whatsoever from anyone, Nicole felt upset. She lifted her jacket from the back of her chair and proceeded to zip it up around her, before taking her hat from the coat stand and arranging it neatly on her head. She checked her phone once more, in case in the last 30 seconds a text or call had been received. Nothing.

The lock on the patrol car clunked dutifully as Nicole pressed a button on her car keys. She got into the driver's side and slammed the door shut, her breath visible in front of her in the freezing cold Purgatory night. She inserted the key into the ignition and allowed the car to start, her mind wandering as the engine rumbled, waiting to be put into gear.  _Why hasn't she called?_ Nicole thought, her brow furrowing. The low murmur of the engine continued as another deputy walked out of the station, waving innocently at Officer Haught as she sat motionless in her cruiser. Nicole attempted a smile of acknowledgement back, but it was hard. She felt sadness at everything which had transpired this morning, and she was helpless to prevent Wynonna accosting Waverly without Nicole there to support her, and that was probably why Waverly hadn't been in contact. The darkness of the cold Purgatory night descended on the rookie, and she resolved to drive directly back home and go straight to bed, hoping that tomorrow would bring something better than today.

Nicole reached her right arm out to put the cruiser into Drive, when she felt a small buzzing sensation against her body. It was her cellphone, vibrating with a text message within the inner pocket of her jacket. Nicole quickly unzipped her jacket and fumbled around inside, her fingers eager to locate the phone. As she looked down at the bright object shining back up at her, Nicole broke into a relieved smile, reading the message that had appeared on the screen.

'Everything is OK but can't talk now. Working tomorrow, but will come to yours after. If you'll have me. Don't worry, everything is cool :) XXX'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Wayhaught - you're killing me! I know there hasn't been much rudeytime for these two in my last few chapters; if that's your thing, then stay tuned...


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wayhaught juggernaught leaves sadville and heads into happy town. Will Waverly finally tell Nicole what she meant to say when they were alone?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emily Andras, I'm waiting by the phone for your call.

Waverly could barely contain her excitement for the end of her shift. The bar top at Shorty's had never been so clean, as the excitable barmaid nervously wiped the surface down again and again, as if it would make the hands go round the clock faster. The whole day she had been texting back and forth with her girlfriend, Nicole. Each time she felt her cellphone buzz in her apron pocket, Waverly Earp's face would light up at the message on the screen.

24 hours earlier, Waverly had headed back with Wynonna to their home, the two sisters on an even keel and exactly the same wavelength. Waverly was thrilled and relieved Wynonna had been so understanding and positive about Waverly's concerns regarding the relationship with Nicole, and Wynonna was just glad she didn't have to see her sister confused and upset.

The elder Earp had joined Waverly at Shorty's late on in her shift, pitching up at the bar and sinking several beers. They'd chatted in between other folk being served; occasionally the other customers would have to try and catch Waverly's attention two or three times before she got to them. Shorty's was busy, but Waverly didn't mind, in fact she liked it that way.

"Makes the shift go quick" she winked at Wynonna.

Wynonna gave a wry smile and lifted her empty beer bottle in celebration. Once she'd dealt with the remaining thirsty patrons waiting at the bar, Waverly returned to her sister, bringing a fresh beer with her, swapping it out for the empty in one movement.

"Hey so, uh....once I'm finished here - "

Wynonna held her palm to Waverly's face, mocking. "You're going to see Nicole. Talk to the hand, lovebird, talk to the hand."

Waverly grabbed her sister's hand from her face and grinned back at her. "Um, less of the lovebird talk, OK Wynonna?"

The dark-haired Earp took a long glug from her bottle, nearly finishing it in one shortly after receiving it. The cold beer filled Wynonna's cheeks and she widened her eyes in Waverly's direction, her bizarre facial expression causing Waverly to let out a snort.

Wynonna managed to down the liquid, and Waverly went back to wiping the bar down. Around the bar, locals admired Waverly's petite figure working hard, her slender arms working back and forth across the bar top, trying to catch a glimpse of something mysterious as she would bend down to pick up something or other. But Waverly didn't see any of these admirers dotted around Shorty's. She didn't notice anything at all. Because Waverly Earp was thinking of only one person these days, and that person was Nicole Haught.

Shorty's bar had gotten quieter as the evening wore on. Traditionally, it would get busy straight from work, as a good deal of the townsfolk would descend to the local drinking hole and let alcohol solve their day's problems. By the time Waverly's shift was reaching it's conclusion, the majority of people left were either too tired or too drunk to observe her practically skipping around the bar. Wynonna, many beers in herself, was slumped over the bar, scowling at her giddy sister.

"Seriously?" Wynonna wailed at her, "you're incorrigible."

Waverly beamed back at her tipsy sister, deliberately sarcastic. "Aww, shucks, thanks!" Waverly attempted to brush some hair out of Wynonna's eyes but she slapped Waverly's hand away, with just enough force only a sister could get away with.

"When're you going to Nicole's then?"

Waverly drew in close and 'sssshed' Wynonna. "Soon, but keep it down, alright?"

The Earp heir gave a mock salute before knocking her beer over the bar. Waverly wasn't impressed. The bottle smashed and beer went over the surface of the bar, down the underside of the bar and into a box of chips which were placed just out of reach of customers, but sadly not far enough from beer spillages. No-one else was going to clear this mess up, and Waverly knew it.  _This is going to make me late,_ she raged to herself.

 

Darkness had descended upon Purgatory hours earlier, but Nicole's apartment had a warm glow across it. There were the candles, several wide church candles dotted sporadically across the living room and kitchenette, plus some tealights in holders placed on the infamous coffee table for good measure. But they weren't the only source of the glow cast across her condo; Nicole was simply radiating excitement. She had snuck away from work before Nedley had given her any more paperwork and headed home, stopping off only to pick up some supplies at the local store. Nicole had picked up some booze, but she absolutely did not intend to consume anywhere near the quantity she had done last Friday. She hummed a generic tune to herself as she fixed her earrings in the hallway mirror, taking a second to glance up and down at her reflection.  _You'll do_ , she said to herself.

Nicole went over to the CD player. She stopped short of pressing the 'Eject' button, her tall frame towering over the well-used music machine, staring down at it. She slowly raised a finger to the Eject button, hovering millimetres short. Her finger moved away from Eject and instead pressed 'Play'. Nicole jumped back and clapped her hands over her ears as the CD player crashed out country music so loud it made the speakers distort. Nicole screamed in horror and smacked the Eject button at last, instantly regretting not having done it in the first place. Out slid the CD and Nicole swiftly tucked it into a kitchen drawer, closing it slowly and deliberately, before backing up against the counter so the drawer wouldn't open.

She took one last look around the place, making sure she'd tidied everything away, making sure everything was in place. Nicole wanted this evening to be something close to perfection - not that it was a concept she actually believed in, but she did care a good deal about making things nice. Her eyes flicked to the clock on the wall of her living room, and Nicole wiped her hands down the front of her top to relieve them of the moisture that had been building.  _Damn, I'm nervous as hell!_ She laughed to herself. All of the craziness of the last few days had built up to a near crescendo, and Nicole was starting to feel the same emotions she felt before she and Waverly had gone out for the first time at Shorty's; nervous, excited, scared, eager. The redhead noted Waverly was slightly late. She wasn't too concerned, however she headed to the living room window, standing to the side so she could peep out onto the street from behind the curtains. As she looked up and down the street for a telltale set of headlights or figure getting out of a vehicle, there were two knocks quietly rapping at the door.

Nicole whipped round from her position hiding behind the curtains, to striding towards her front door, her long legs meaning it was only a handful of steps. She didn't need to look through the spyhole to check to see who it was; Nicole knew who it was before she even got there. She took in a breath and turned the white plastic doorknob, pulling open the door as she went. The other side of the door was a young woman, a few inches shorter than Nicole, with long hair that was a mixture of brunette and caramel coloured strands. Her eyes looked grey in the dull light of the hallway, but sometimes they could look blue; but when they turned to look directly at the young deputy, it felt like no-one else existed except she and Nicole. It was Waverly Earp.

Nicole smiled a broad smile, opening the door wider so her guest could come in. Waverly beamed back at her, catching eyes as she side-stepped past Nicole in the doorway, and walked through into the living room. In her wake, Waverly left a delicate trail of her unmistakable natural perfume which was not lost on Nicole, and she found herself from the doorway looking the young woman up and down admiringly, as Waverly began to slip out of her coat. 

"Let me take that Waves" Nicole stepped forward quickly, kindly taking Waverly's parka from her. Waverly's eyes briefly looked up at her and then away again, as she surveyed the room.

"Wearing your hair down Nicole? I like it that way. You should do it more."

Nicole registered the compliment and noted the advice for future reference, nodding to indicate she'd heard. She headed back to the hallway to hang Waverly's coat on an empty peg. She hovered in the hallway for a moment, looking back into the living room, illuminated romantically by the candles she'd arranged so carefully around the place, taking a moment to watch her girlfriend circle around the room, picking objects up and inspecting them, leaning in to look closer at photographs. Nicole didn't realise it but she was watching halfway behind Waverly's coat, hung on the wall next to her.

"Hey uh, are you just gonna stare at me from out there all night?" Waverly said loudly, facing away from Nicole, not even bothering to turn around.

Nicole blushed and realised how funny she must have looked, hiding out in the hallway, silently observing Waverly glide around her living room. The redhead moved back into the room and towards Waverly. She offered her a drink, which the young Earp accepted.

"No gin?" Waverly grinned.

" _Definitely_ no gin." Nicole's eyes widened with mock embarrassment.

A bottle of white wine was opened, and although wine wasn't the young officer's favourite tipple, she saw it as a social drink, and enjoyed the experience of sharing it with someone she cared about. Waverly definitely did enjoy wine, but earlier in the day she'd made a mental note not to drink to excess. Neither was prepared to fall foul of booze again quite yet.

They'd settled onto the couch comfortably; Waverly had always noted Nicole was someone who preferred to keep a cool temperature, but she was pleased to note the apartment wasn't chilly, and there was no need to share a blanket like they had back at the Earp homestead. Waverly had assumed a casual position at the end of the couch nearest the kitchen area -  _so I can be in charge of the music, I think it's for the best_ \- so Nicole had sat at the other, nearest the window. Waverly looked across the old wooden coffee table in front of them, a smattering of tealights in the middle of the table, illuminating the cold half-empty wine bottle which was creating a ring of condensation beneath itself.

The two women had idly chatted about their respective days, Waverly speaking first as she so often did, describing her shift at Shorty's and rolling her eyes recanting the Wynonna beer bottle story, explaining why she was slightly late. Nicole also described her day at work, but not in quite as much detail, which often was something that differentiated the two. As she finished letting Waverly know how much cleaning she'd done around the apartment, Waverly's expressions mocking Nicole with fake amazement, Nicole leaned forward and filled both wine glasses with the remainder of the bottle's contents.

"Why, officer, are you trying to get me drunk?" Waverly flirted.

Nicole plonked the empty bottle back on the edge of the table and smiled. "What's the right answer here....." she joked, looking up to the sky, pretending to search for the answer.

Waverly took a gulp of wine and placed her glass on the edge of the table next to the bottle. She turned to sit sideways facing Nicole, her right arm propping her head up from the relative safety of the back of the couch. Her eyes sparkled in the flickering candle light. Nicole had the familiar but always unexpected feeling of butterflies as she looked across at the beautiful young woman opposite.

"You know," Nicole started, "you've been serving at Shorty's for hours, in clouds of smoke, around sweaty old guys, and yet..."

Waverly's eyes flickered inquisitively. "And yet - what?"

"And yet you still look like this!" Nicole outstretched her palm, indicating Waverly's whole being. "You are..... sensational, Waverly."

With a coy smile, Waverly felt her cheeks turn hot with embarrassment. It was a trait she couldn't seem to shift, not that Nicole minded. The officer had always found it was a clear indicator whenever Waverly liked what she'd heard, but didn't know how to respond. Nicole enjoyed being able to have that effect on her, her words having such meaning for Waverly that physically she showed the watching world that she loved it.

Waverly picked her glass up once more and took a sip, her eyes just visible above the lip of the large glass as she raised it to drink. She paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes.

"You  _always_ know just what to say, huh?" She joked, rapping her knuckles on Nicole's knee.

Nicole gazed back, eager to banter with her. "It's all in the name, sugar" she winked.

"Speaking of which..!" Waverly sat up on the couch suddenly, nearly spilling her wine over herself. She reached down into her handbag on the floor and produced her cellphone, using both hands to enter the code to unlock, trying to hang onto the glass. "Look! Look!" Waverly shoved her cellphone under Nicole's nose. Nicole's eyes squinted to read the text on the screen.

"What is this?"

"It's my contacts" Waverly said, triumphantly.

Nicole looked back down at the phone, and took it from Waverly's hand so she could read it better. Her squinted eyes widened into a bemused expression.

"Wave..."

Waverly broke into a large smile, her little frame bobbing up and down on the couch in giddiness. Nicole continued.

"....I'm in here as - "

"As Officer Haughtstuff!" Waverly interrupted excitedly, grabbing the phone out of Nicole's hands and checking it again herself, her face clearly indicating she was feeling very pleased with herself.

Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled, as Waverly punched her on the shoulder.

"You don't find it as funny as I do, right?"

Nicole took a sip of wine. "No I do, I do, it's funny I guess?"

Waverly felt a pang of disappointment that her girlfriend wasn't as amused as she was by the nickname. She pursed her lips and thought for a moment.

"OK Nicole, what would you rather appear as in my contacts?"

"Um....Nicole?" Came the smart reply.

"Yeah no, that's not gonna happen. If you can't think of something else then you stay as Officer Haughtstuff. Hotstuff." Waverly growled the name again, flirtatiously.

"Fine, keep it, but don't come crawlin' to me when someone goes through your phone and asks you questions" Nicole said, raising an eyebrow and taking another sip.

Waverly looked back at the redhead opposite and took a glug of her own wine. She became aware the music had stopped in the background, and stuck out a thumb as if asking Nicole's permission whether she could approach the CD player.

"Go ahead" Nicole said, half-swallowing another mouthful of wine.

Waverly sidled over to the small pile of CDs splayed on the kitchen counter, randomly selecting one with her finger, before changing it out for the one in the system. "You want another drink?" Waverly almost yelled from beside the refrigerator.

Nicole held her glass out in front of her face to check how much was left. It was about a third of a glass. She glanced down at the empty bottle on the table, and shrugged. "Count me in" she replied.

The refrigerator door was flung open, and Waverly dragged out another bottle from inside. She unscrewed it as she walked back around to the couch, placing the bottle on the table next to its empty counterpart. Any feelings of nervousness or anticipation seemed to have faded away during the course of the first bottle, and Nicole waited for Waverly to snuggle into the corner of the couch once more before she spoke. 

"So, the other day you said there was something you wanted to tell me?" Nicole's trademark confidence had not waned.

Waverly had drunk another sip of wine, taking a long, slow swallow as her eyes were fixed on Nicole's. Waverly had wanted to tell Nicole something the other day at the station, and at that moment she'd built up the confidence to do so in the heat of the moment. Though the wine had started to ease some feelings, it hadn't totally eradicated the feeling in Waverly's stomach which felt like her heart leaping into her mouth.

Nicole waited for Waverly to respond. She swallowed another mouthful of wine, her deep chocolate brown eyes staring back at Waverly. She looked down as Waverly placed a hand on her knee tenderly, retaining the wine glass in the other hand, hovering next to her mouth.

"Yes. Yes there was something I wanted to say." Waverly said resolutely, desperately trying to rouse confidence in herself.

Nicole placed her hand over Waverly's and smiled. "What is it? You can tell me, you can tell me anything."

The young Earp screwed up her face as if that would make it any easier to formulate the words. She took another shot of wine. Nicole waited patiently.

"Hmmmmmm. Yep. Something I wanted to  _say_." Waverly mumbled, trying to buy time. But it wasn't time that she needed. Back in the filing room at the station, she'd been so terrified that Nicole was about to suggest they end their relationship for their own good. Even thinking of it made Waverly feel physically sick, and make her come out in a hot flush. Waverly had been overjoyed and exceptionally relieved when Wynonna had so sweetly described knowing about her and Nicole, the hurdle that appeared the biggest in all of this, and since that unequivocal acceptance, the days of worrying and over-analysing appeared to be over. She felt Nicole's soft, slender fingers hold onto her hand, balanced on top of her girlfriend's knee, trying to remember a time when she'd felt so safe, so adored; so appreciated, so loved.

Nicole moved slightly closer to Waverly on the couch, moving her wine to her left hand and using her right to gently touch Waverly's cheek. Waverly closed her eyes and let her head drop slightly into Nicole's hand. The feeling of Nicole's touch had always felt like it transcended any other she'd ever experienced. Nicole leaned in close so she could whisper.

"Can I make this easier for you?"

"I don't know, can you?" Waverly laughed nervously, unconvinced.

The flame-haired young woman leaned down and placed her wine glass on the floor beside the couch, and resumed her position close to Waverly. Waverly's pulse began racing as it always did when Nicole was within close proximity to her, and she caught a hint of Nicole's favourite perfume as she drew near. Waverly began to tremble.

Nicole placed a hand on Waverly's thigh reassuringly, and looked up at the trembling beautiful young woman before her.

"Wave?"

"Yes?" Waverly whispered in reply, her voice cracking.

"I'm in love with you"

Waverly was silent for a moment. It was deafening. She looked down at Nicole's hand on her thigh. She didn't need to think.

"And I'm in love with you Nicole."

 

 

In the darkness of the bedroom, from the comfort of the warm bed Waverly felt her way around the nightstand, her hand finally navigating it's way to her cellphone. She turned her head slowly to see if she was being watched - she wasn't. Waverly unlocked the cellphone and the bright screen was a crisp, unnatural light radiating up into her face, her eyes half-closing in order to accommodate the brightness. Waverly felt Nicole turn over next to her in the darkness.

"Who are you calling?" Nicole yawned sleepily.

"I'm not calling anyone, just checking the time. Go back to sleep!" Waverly whispered.

Nicole didn't need a second invitation. She found it easy to fall asleep, and at the very end of this particularly eventful day, no sooner had Waverly spoken than she drifted off. Waverly returned to her phone, holding it in both hands like a newborn baby. Her fingers worked quickly over the touchscreen keyboard, typing fervently before Nicole looked over her shoulder and saw what she was writing.

Waverly quickly read over the message she had written, then proceeded to hit the send button. The bright screen was dormant for a moment, before beginning to fade with inactivity. But almost immediately, it lit up again accompanied by a familiar buzz of vibration, as the reply was received. Waverly couldn't help but smile at the response. She placed her phone quietly back on the nightstand and snuggled back down into the warmth of the bed, pulling the covers over her and up to her chin. Waverly stared at the ceiling as she replayed the short text conversation in her head, over and over, her mind not quite ready to rest and go to sleep. She smiled again as she analysed the response to her original message, turning her head to look at Nicole sleeping next to her in the darkness, her red hair falling all around the pillow. Waverly turned again and reached out for her cellphone once more from the nightstand, pulling it in close to her and holding it underneath the covers so it wouldn't disturb her sleeping girlfriend. She opened up the text thread again.

Wynonna: Did u tell her u love her?

Waverly: YES! XX

Wynonna: Good girl

 

Waverly's fingers once more worked quickly to thrash out a reply to her sister.

"Waves....quit it with your phone and go to sleep" Nicole murmured dozily, flapping her arm to try and take the cellphone from her.

"Alright! Jeez!" Waverly replied, pressing some buttons quickly and replacing the phone back to the nightstand.

Nicole sighed a contented sigh as she placed her arm around Waverly under the covers and pulled her closer. Waverly allowed herself to be pulled close and let out a gentle moan of happiness as the two young women curled up together, warm in Nicole's bed. Waverly's eyes began to close, and before she knew what was happening, she drifted off to sleep, the arm of her girlfriend protecting her from anything and everything.

 

Wynonna's cellphone buzzed with the reply from Waverly.

'Thank you W xxxx'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually rather jealous.
> 
> If you enjoyed this chapter then do let me know, there will be some more, just as soon as I write it! Obviously they're having a pyjama party at Nicole's place, so these pyjamas may feature more heavily in the next chapter...


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sun rises on a happy Wayhaught, the morning after the night before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on to your hats

Waverly's eyes opened. It took a couple of seconds for her to remember where she was, as beams of light shone onto her face: Nicole's bedroom. She turned slowly to look at the warm figure behind her in the bed, the body having gone way beyond the concept of 'personal space'. Waverly's eyes looked over her girlfriend's motionless body, just the slow rise and fall with each breath, from her hips up to her face, whereupon she was surprised to see Nicole looking straight back at her.

"Hey" Nicole said.

"Hey" Waverly replied, turning her whole body to face her.

They were a mirror image; both had their hands tucked under their bodies to support them, half-propped in bed, gazing adoringly at one another. A second or two passed before either dared say anything else.

"Do you have to be in work today?" Waverly said quietly, hopefully.

Nicole rolled her eyes at the mere thought of going to work, and leaving this perfectly wonderful situation behind. "Yes," she groaned, "but I don't have to be in 'til later?"

A smile began forming across Waverly's face, as an idea crept into her head. Nicole saw her features evolve from sleepiness to something far removed from sleepiness, and a coy smile belied her attempts to be serious.

"Um, Nicole...." Waverly's voice trailed off.

The beams of warm yellow light cutting into the bedroom caused Nicole's eyes to sparkle. The officer didn't need another prompt.

Nicole freed her hand which had supported her and rolled under the covers on top of Waverly, a leg either side, straddling her. Waverly's chest rose and fell rapidly, her heartbeat increasing and her pupils dilating with anticipation. Nicole lowered herself to deliver a soft kiss on the girl below her, their lips touching gently at first, then pressing together with intensity. Nicole paused to look at Waverly, their face no more than centimetres apart. She nearly lost herself in her eyes.

"Say it again" Nicole whispered into Waverly's ear. Waverly felt her legs go weak, her body trembled with pure excitement. Nicole withdrew her head back to gaze at her once more.

"Say it" Nicole repeated, a little more insistent, but with warmth.

Waverly flashed a smile, enjoying the power she had over Nicole in this moment; emotionally if not physically. She adored seeing Nicole this vulnerable, wanting and needing to hear her say those little words, the words that almost visibly filled her with light. Waverly acted up to the part as Nicole laid on top of her; she attempted to wriggle free as Nicole used her strength to keep the youngest Earp sister underneath her.

"Say it, or bad things will happen." Nicole broke into a smile, desperately trying to keep a straight face.

Waverly squirmed and wriggled, trying to break free by sliding down the bed, underneath and away from her girlfriend, playing up to her role as the girl being dominated. "N-no! I w-w-won't say itttt!" She snorted, simple speech an impossibility as her arms and legs flailed everywhere.

Nicole had enough of this. She used her superior strength to hold Waverly's wrists above her head on the pillow, taking time to readjust her position on top of her, so Waverly couldn't escape. She bent down and began to kiss Waverly's neck, softly and gently, her lips almost only grazing around her collarbone and just below.

"Don't think you can..." Waverly breathed heavily, trying to piece together a coherent sentence, "..can....do.....I mean.....don't think you...."

Nicole held both Waverly's slight wrists together on the bed below, comfortably above Waverly's head, and drew her other hand down by her side, and under the covers.

"Do what, baby?" Nicole cooed suggestively.

Waverly wanted to reply, but Nicole's touch underneath the covers took her breath away.

Waverly's back arched as it had done before for Nicole, a slight gasp escaping her lips at the same time. Nicole smiled seductively and bent down once more to whisper into Waverly's ear.

"I'm waiting."

She allowed Waverly's hands to come free from her dominating hold, and they immediately fell either side of her arching form, fingers spread firmly, gripping the bedsheet under the covers. Waverly's tongue flicked quickly across her lips. Nicole's arm under the covers moved slowly and deliberately, her eyes locked on Waverly's face, as her eyes screwed closed, trying to contain what she was feeling.

Nicole's red hair draped loosely around her as she faced down towards her girl, her hand underneath Waverly's shorts, moving deliberately and with purpose. Waverly moaned with pleasure and opened her eyes to look back at her girlfriend, who was still sat on top of her. Waverly grabbed Nicole around the neck and pulled her down roughly, their lips meeting suddenly and urgently. Nicole slid her hand back from Waverly's shorts and slipped it underneath her vest from the bottom up. Waverly moaned again as Nicole explored her bare flesh, covered only by the thin cotton top. There was something incredibly sexy about her intimate areas being touched against the tightness of her clothes, the urgency of having no time to remove them only heightening the sensation. Both girls had got changed into shorts and vests before saying goodnight the evening before, only after they'd spent a couple of hours exploring each other's naked bodies around the bedroom.

Their lips stayed together as their tongues touched, moving in and out of each others' mouths, enjoying the intimacy of each other. Waverly broke away into a smile.

"What?" Nicole laughed after a moment, catching her breath, holding her tight in her arms.

"This is crazy!" Waverly beamed.

"Crazy good?"

"Yeah crazy good..." Waverly bit her lip, the mischievous expression on her face completely understood by the woman opposite. Waverly directed her gaze across Nicole's chest, her top catching and straining to contain its contents. Her eyes flicked up to her face.

"Nicole, help me out of these clothes will you?"

Nicole leapt out from under the covers. She kneeled next to the bed, pulling Waverly up so she was edged on the side, facing her. Nicole teased Waverly's legs apart, moving herself in between, slipping her fingers underneath the elasticated waistband of the shorts Waverly had folded over at the top. Waverly didn't look down at what Nicole was doing. She didn't care that the material at the front of the grey shorts had turned darker through dampness. All she knew was she wanted to be free with the woman opposite. Nicole dug her fingers under the waistband of the shorts and slipped them off from Waverly's legs, Waverly lifting herself slightly from the bed to accommodate. The officer threw the shorts behind her, not looking at where they went, before turning her attention to the thin white vest covering Waverly's top half. The brunette lifted her arms invitingly, as Nicole pulled the vest up and over Waverly's head, sitting up to plant a kiss on her lips as she jettisoned the article from an outstretched arm.

"Mmm" Waverly moaned dreamily, her perfectly-formed petite figure released from the restrictions of her clothes. Nicole continued with her kiss as she moved to press her body against Waverly's, her hands moving up across her body expertly to cup Waverly's ample assets. Nicole felt her shorts grow wet, as she wanted to sample even more of Waverly, each kiss and touch pushing her further and further.

"Now you" Waverly whispered to Nicole.

The officer, still in the clothes she'd slept in, rose from her position next to the bed and moved back a step, allowing Waverly to initiate whatever she wanted. Waverly stood up from her position at the edge of the bed, and walked towards Nicole, forcing her to walk backwards. Waverly forcefully pushed Nicole up against her own bedroom wall, following up by roughly by grabbing Nicole's wrists as she'd done so to Waverly moments before, holding them above her head against the magnolia-coloured paintwork. Nicole was shocked by Waverly's forwardness, but her body ached with longing as Waverly took the lead. Waverly's grip tightened, pinning her girlfriend firmly in position.

"I thought - "

"Shut up" Waverly interrupted, her first foray into dominance. She wanted to impress Nicole in the bedroom. But her roleplay was short-lived; she couldn't keep this pretence up, and broke into a laugh. Nicole smiled at her, her wrists still being held above her head, amused by Waverly's inability to keep up the game.

"We'd better practice at this" Nicole smirked, waiting for Waverly to make her next move.

A new plan in mind, Waverly released Nicole's wrists and allowed them to resume their position at her waist, as she stepped forward and placed her leg firmly in between Nicole, pushing her legs open and separated. The redhead let out a low growl of excitement as she felt Waverly push against her, her naked form clearly excited in every aspect. Waverly tugged at Nicole's shorts, trying to remove them with one hand; Nicole assisted, pulling them down the other side with hers. As they fell to the floor, Waverly surveyed the sight in front of her, and felt an indescribable sensation shoot between her legs. Nicole was beyond turned on and wanted to move things forward, pulling her vest over head as she locked eyes with Waverly, never looking away. The redhead's supreme superhuman confidence was an incredible turn on for Waverly, it always was. Nicole was hot, ridiculously hot, in more ways than one.

The two young women slipped into each other's arms against the bedroom wall, their bodies entwining and rubbing against one another, their fingers moving up and down their bodies, touching, feeling, exploring. Waverly broke away from their impassioned embrace to plant soft, intricate kisses downwards from Nicole's mouth, her head moving to each side in order to take Nicole's breasts in her mouth.

"Fuck.." Nicole whispered as she closed her eyes.

Waverly continued to kiss across Nicole's chest and downwards still, until she almost reached her navel. Before now, the inexperienced Earp had shied away from performing on Nicole in exactly the same way she had done to Waverly. This was all still new territory, and Waverly had been nervous about what she should do, and particularly what she should do to make it feel good.  _Amazing_ , even.

Nicole's eyes were still closed. She felt Waverly's breath at her waist, her body producing goosebumps of anticipation. A moment passed, and the young deputy looked down at Waverly.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to Wave" She said, soothingly.

Waverly shook her head, standing back up to face her. "I want to."

Nicole kissed her tenderly on the lips. "This is more than I need. More..... than I deserve."

Waverly's gaze darted between each of Nicole's brown eyes, her heart thumping in her chest. Their intimacy had meant so much to Waverly; not just the sex, but when they were alone together, shared embraces, cute hugs, holding hands when no-one was looking.

"What did I do to deserve you...." Waverly let the words run, brushing Nicole's auburn locks away from her face.

Nicole's heart beat wildly as she felt her girlfriend's hand brush across her skin, the sensation of her touch never fading. Waverly placed her hands on Nicole's waist, as she looked expectantly back at her to continue.

Nicole couldn't hold it in any longer. Waverly had been sexually aggressive and Nicole liked it; she wanted her petite girlfriend to dominate her physically, as she had done so mentally since the day they met.

"Wave, please" She pleaded, the moistening feeling below increasing with every second.

Waverly drew herself to Nicole impossibly close, their faces separated by breath only. Waverly's voice took on a serious tone.

"Don't you want to hear me say it," she whispered, "say it to you again?"

Nicole's body began to tremble, goosebumps pricking all over her pale, soft skin. She held Waverly's gaze, unable to reply. Waverly's lips brushed against Nicole's before she spoke.

"I....."

"Yes baby"

"I love you"

Waverly's lips brushed against her girlfriend's cheek. Nicole closed her eyes, as she felt a feeling wash over her that she'd never experienced before now. She'd given herself to Waverly whole-heartedly in every aspect, her body and mind completely owned by the girl whose limbs were entwined with her own. Waverly smiled a happy smile, and she trailed a hand around to meet Nicole's, leading her to step away from the wall, encouraging Nicole to follow her back into the bed.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a new working week in Purgatory, and everything seems hunky dory, but sadly someone from Waverly's past seems to want to put a spanner in the works. Things don't always run smoothly for Wayhaught, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dunnnnn

It was early afternoon, and the sleepy town of Purgatory began its usual drop in temperature as the sun slowly commenced its descent. Residents scuttled up and down the sidewalks, wrapping themselves tighter in the warmth of their coats, jackets and scarves, occasionally muttering how cold it was to themselves. There was no-one out on the streets who wasn't a local. Purgatory, though home of Wyatt Earp country, had not seen much in the way of tourists in the last few weeks, and a large part of that was down to the winter that was drawing in, making it a cold and desolate place.

But this cold snap had gone relatively unnoticed by two residents of Purgatory. It would have taken a blizzard of epic proportions to capture the attention of the two young women who had entered a new phase in their burgeoning relationship. Waverly and Nicole had been near inseparable in the last couple of weeks, as was the way when two people begin seeing each another before falling completely for one another; texts, phonecalls, secret dates, rendezvous. They'd been afforded the run of the homestead thanks to Wynonna's sweet understanding of them being together, but Waverly and Nicole had not been so quick to bring their romance out into the critical public eye of Purgatory. The town was out on a limb, slowly catching up with the rest of the country both in morals and liberal-mindedness. Nicole had tentatively tried to hold Waverly's hand as they'd walked towards Shorty's one time but her girlfriend wasn't ready for a bar full of boozed-up hicks to see this same sex relationship out in the open. Nicole understood, but she also wished things were different.  _But you kissed me outside Shorty's that time_ , Nicole thought to herself, trying to validate her try at moving things forward. It wasn't that Nicole needed their relationship to be validated, but she ached to be able to do all the small things that most people seem to be able to do in their home town, without feeling like there would be repercussions.

Waverly enjoyed the safety of being with Nicole. Her girlfriend exuded confidence wherever she went, whether it was as Officer Haught, making an arrest or chasing down a suspect, or in the comfort of home, where she made Waverly feel secure in all the ways a girlfriend could. She'd often shown her admiration for Nicole's physical strength, which wasn't beyond the realms of an average athletic female, but coupled with her height, Waverly had enjoyed Nicole being able to pick her up playfully or deal with something heavy whilst Waverly's eyes darted over her flexing arms. Frequently seeing Nicole exert her strength or authority on something or someone would end with Waverly insisting they rendezvous in the bedroom, stat. The officer didn't mind this one bit, as she in turn loved that Waverly was different to her, her little petite figure mixed with her feisty and energetic personality, made for Waverly Earp as the ultimate pocket rocket. Nicole had watched Waverly from afar as she charmed everyone she met wherever she went, leaving them wondering who this Earp girl was, and could they know her better. Her girlfriend's heart fluttered when she remembered that Waverly, no matter where she was going or who she was talking to, was coming back home to  _her_.

Am icy breeze blew through the middle of Purgatory's empty main street as a red Jeep pulled up into a badly-marked parking bay. The engine stopped and the 4x4 stood idle for several minutes, no-one getting out and no-one getting in. Behind the wheel, Waverly talked into her cellphone in a hushed voice, one hand holding it against her ear and the other cupping the bottom, as if trying to keep what she was saying a secret. She giggled as she talked.

"Why, officer, I do believe you're blushing" Waverly sniggered down the phone.

As the retort came back, Waverly giggled excitedly once more. She checked the time on her dashboard.

"Crap.... OK I really have to go this time," she said apologetically. The reply came and Waverly listened.

"OK I'm going now," the youngest Earp said playfully, "but you hang up first."

Waverly was more than disappointed when the phone cut out and the call ended abruptly, the conversation over before she was quite ready. She stared at the screen for a few moments to check if Nicole called back, but she didn't. _Huh,_ Waverly huffed.

She checked her hair in the mirror, adjusting a few strands here and there, before grabbing her bag and hopping out of the jeep. No sooner had she flung the thin straps to her bag over her shoulder than she was aware a stocky figure was approaching her, hands in their pockets and walking with kind of a stoop in the cold. Waverly had barely turned to look before the familiar thick aroma of aftershave stung her nose, and before she looked, she knew who it was.

"Hey baby"

Champ.

Waverly looked him up and down. He looked particularly hunched today, his thin corduroy jacket with sheepskin collar providing little shelter from the bitter cold that had enveloped Purgatory. He gave his usual half-smile that also seemed to resemble a grimace, his eyes looking tired and almost glazed over. A few years back Champ Hardy was considered a real catch around these parts, his bad-boy tattoos and modern haircuts drove the girls wild; and once he'd worked his way through the girls who'd gone wild, he'd pursued young Waverly Earp. She was resistant to his charms at first, but then he came to the realisation Waverly was not like other girls, and so, he'd gone all out to seduce her. His good looks, charm, and genuine appearance of kindness broke Waverly down, and coupled with pangs of loneliness, they became a couple. Champ hadn't always been the shuffling, lazy looking guy he looked now, and in the icy winds of the late afternoon, Waverly almost felt sorry for him.

Almost.

"Champ, don't call me baby." She replied sternly.

He stuck his hands further down into the pocket of his jeans and looked guiltily towards the floor, kicking a rock out from under his feet. "You'll always be my baby..." he murmured to himself.

Waverly couldn't quite make out what he was saying so quietly under his breath, and stooped her head to try and catch his gaze.

"Champ? Everything alright?"

Her ex-boyfriend looked back up at her, his eyes running up and down as he took her in for a moment. "I-I...I meant what I said to you the other day, Wave."

"And what was that, Champ?" Waverly replied, looking confused.

"I miss you. I wish we were still together. Like it used to be."

Waverly's eyes rolled and her puff of breath in exasperation was evident in the cold of the air. She didn't reply, so Champ continued.

"So um... I wondered... wondered if you'd think about giving us another chance? You're lookin' mighty fine Wave, and I'll do anything it takes," he stepped a little closer to her, "anything."

Waverly's head rotated quickly to see if anyone nearby was watching the exchange that was unfolding, and she brought her gaze back to Champ, drawing her bag into her body protectively. She tried to find the words to formulate a response.

"Uh, Champ...."

He moved his face closer to hers, his aftershave whirling around in the space in between them. "Oh no baby - I mean Waverly - don't say anything, don't decide anything now..." his hands came out of their pockets, instinctively moving to cup her face as he'd always done, but he stopped short of doing so, slowly dropping them to his sides again. This hadn't gone unnoticed, and Waverly watched as Champ's expression changed to one of helplessness, his eyes evolving from glazed to puppy dog-like. His aftershave wasn't so overpowering anymore, in fact, it was one Waverly had bought him last Christmas and she recognised it as one she'd kind of liked at the time.

"Waverly, you were the best thing that ever happened to me, and I was a fool to let you go. What I said about Buenos Aires, that was...was... stupid. Of _course_ I don't want you to just be a barmaid your whole life. And it wouldn't even have to be Buenos Aires, it could be anywhere." His tone grew hopeful as Waverly allowed him to carry on.

"And if you let me, I'd treat you how all girlfriends should be treated..." he tailed off, words swirling around in his head, trying to pinpoint exactly what that treatment should look like.

The young woman opposite Champ stayed silent. She longed to be able to say she was with Nicole Haught, and she was already being treated like all girlfriends should be treated. Waverly knew Champ was aware something may be going on between the two girls, but she didn't want to give him any confirmation just yet. But she did soften a little towards him when she saw how sad he looked. Champ stood motionless for a moment, hoping for a reply.

"So uh... Wave... whaddya think?"

Waverly shook her head. It wasn't even up for debate, but she wanted to be able to let Champ down gently. He was many things, but she had loved him in some small way once.

"Champ," she placed her hand softly on the side of his face, her warm skin against his which was cold, "we're not getting back together. Not now, and..."

He brushed her hand away. "Not ever, right?"

Waverly was shocked by his reaction. She attempted to respond, but stuttered.

Champ looked up to the sky and laughed, closing his eyes with disbelief. Rejection, again. He shook his head and laughed once more, his thick fingers running through his hair.

"Well, yes, if you must know, not ever. I'm sorry Champ. I'm sorry." Waverly said steadfastly.

Champ's dull grey eyes stared back at her, incredulous. His tongue ran over his teeth under his lips, as if he was preparing to launch a speech. Champ grinned.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain police officer, would it now?"

Waverly drew close to him, her small frame trying to look bullish next to his stockiness. "You leave her out of this" she spat.

Champ smiled once more, knowing he'd touched a nerve. He looked behind him and then back at his ex-girlfriend, his eyes narrowing as he spoke.

"Ohhhh. There it is. Officer whats-her-name. She's really brainwashed you, huh."

Waverly's hand in her jacket pocket curled into a ball, her fingers squeezing into a fist angrily; her bag dropping from her shoulder onto the floor as her other arm raised pointedly towards her ex-boyfriend.

"Don't talk about her, you don't even _know_ her" she snarled.

Champ paused for a moment. He'd always seen Waverly act feisty, she'd always been a bit of a livewire but calm and collected, however this time something in her eyes betrayed her usually cool exterior. His eyes flicked down to Waverly's mouth, her teeth gritted together in determination. But Champ didn't care. He'd been rejected again, and this time he wasn't going to be made a fool once more, taking it lying down as he had done those weeks ago.

"I know enough" he growled back.

Waverly looked to her right where she saw two grey-haired women were approaching. These two were known to Waverly, and she known to them. They were in their early 60s, and had lived through every winter Purgatory had thrown at them. As the two women got closer to the ex-lovers sparring in the street, they drew close to one another, linking arms and appearing to whisper. Champ looked over to observe the pair, and turned back to Waverly, her face still pained.

"Don't. You. Dare." She whispered, still gritting her teeth.

Champ's mouth pressed up against her ear, his hushed tone tinged with menace. "What's that? 'Fraid I'm about to say somethin' to these ladies about you and the lady officer?"

The youngest Earp step backwards, moving away from Champ's hot breath on her face. She shivered slightly, partially with cold but also recoiling from Champ's close proximity. She bent down to pick up her bag, and raised her hand once more, her fingers formed into a point in Champ's face.

"There is nothing to say, Champ. I've got nothing to say to you. If you ever loved me, you'll leave me alone."

Champ looked over at the two women, who by now were within earshot. He looked back at his ex-girlfriend and grinned, sticking his hands firmly in the pockets of his jeans once more. The lazy expression he so often had cast across his face as he mulled over his response, before his features twisted with anger.

"I've seen how you look at her. How you look at each other," he spat, "it makes me _sick_."

Waverly smiled, shaking her head. "You know nothing, _Champ_." She retorted, adjusting the bag strap on her shoulder. Champ was getting under Waverly's skin. So many times it had happened unintentionally, her ex-boyfriend being unaware how he irritated her all those times they were together. But this time, he was so deliberate it made Waverly's blood boil. Her hand flexed in her pocket once more. Champ screwed his nose up at the young woman in front of him.

"Yeah right. I've seen you two together. There's no way nothin's goin' on," he voice lowered into a growl, "you never looked at me the way you look at _her._ "

"You're damn right." Waverly replied, her voice bathed in anger, lunging forward at Champ as she spoke. She hadn't intended to respond that way, but Champ's line of questioning had stirred something inside her, and him referring to Nicole as _'her'_ just made Waverly explode. As soon as the had words tumbled out, she stopped, motionless. It was out there: She'd all but admitted to her ex-boyfriend that she was involved with Nicole. Officer Haught, the rookie cop who had barely been in Purgatory for ten minutes but had been scrutinised by everyone she came into contact with. Waverly's mouth stayed open as she looked up at Champ in shock, his face contorting into a smug, arrogant, knowing smile.

"Well well well," he breathed, "little Waverly's all grown up huh?" He snorted.

Waverly took several deep breaths. "Champ, if you say anything - "

"Too late baby, too late! I'll bet nobody knows about you two, eh?"

As Champ spoke, his words were dripping in vitriol. He'd wanted to reason with Waverly, appeal to her better sense of judgement to take him back. But if he couldn't have her, he was going to make damn sure no-one else would. Especially not Nicole Haught.

Waverly tried to place her hand on Champ's arm, but he angled his body away, scowling back at her.

"Champ. Don't do this"

Champ began to turn on his heel, hands jammed in his pants. He blew a hot breath into the cold Purgatory air, and broke into another laugh, one which shook Waverly. A hand jumped out of the pocket of his denims and he stuck a thumb out in the direction of the two ladies, who by now had crept past, whispering to one another about why that nice Hardy boy was fraternising with one of those Earp girls again.

"Shall I, uh, fill them in?" He pointed at the gossiping duo.

"Champ!" Waverly pleaded, her voice shrill with worry. She watched as Champ walked away, heading in the direction of the two woman who were looking back at Waverly. He approached them, drawing his faded jacket around him for warmth, and Waverly's heart leapt into her mouth. _Please, please don't do it Champ, please don't do this to me,_ Waverly said to herself.

As he got within touching distance, Champ turned back to Waverly, recognising the look of worry etched on her face. He brought his right hand up to his face, and with all the sarcasm he could muster, Champ smacked his hand against his lips and blew a kiss back at his ex-girlfriend, before moving away from the two woman and up the street. Waverly watched as he trudged back up the street, turning to look every so often to make sure he'd left her in a state of horror, a look of pleasure on his face every time he checked back. As he walked into the distance of the other side of town, Waverly felt her cheeks, which had turned hot with anger, and she was aware her eyes had begun to tear. The two gossiping women were still looking back at the Earp girl as she tried to compose herself.

"What are you looking at?" Waverly yelled at them. The pair turned around sharply and walked quickly in the direction away from her, before returning to whispering between themselves and casting glances back at the angry young woman as they went.

Waverly wiped her eyes. She didn't want to cry, she certainly didn't mean to. But Champ had gotten under her skin, attacked her in the one place he never had before: her heart. She was angry with herself for rising to the bait Champ had offered; he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and she should have been cleverer at the time. Champ had never usually won their arguments as he couldn't offer up an informed opinion, however this time Waverly had provided him with the ammunition. Waverly wasn't ashamed of her relationship with Nicole, how could she be, she had finally opened her heart to Nicole and it had filled her with such happiness that she couldn't imagine feeling this happy about anything ever again. But she wasn't ready for the rest of Purgatory to know yet, and definitely not the version which Champ would tell. He was narrow-minded and inarticulate, and Waverly felt sick at the thought of Champ announcing to anyone who would listen what his disgusting ex-girlfriend was getting up to with the butch cop. She sniffed back a tear and rummaged around in her bag for her cellphone. There was one person who would understand everything she was feeling, and she couldn't wait the two seconds to unlock her phone in order to tell her. As her fingers clumsily stabbed at the keypad on the screen, Waverly saw she'd received a text message whilst her phone had been on silent. She wandered over to the edge of the sidewalk and sat down on the freezing cold concrete, as she scrolled down to read the message. She held her phone in one hand and propped her other against her head as she squatted on the cold lip of the sidewalk, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

'Hey you. Sorry about just hanging up on you, I heard Nedley coming up the hall. Hope you have a good day. I can't wait to see you, I'm literally counting the minutes. Nxxx'

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secret is out - Champ knows about Waverly and Nicole's relationship, and he's going to make sure the rest of Purgatory knows about it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know we all hate Champ but I'm trying to steer him away from being a complete pantomime villain in this piece. Can you blame him for being sad about having lost Waverly? OK, OK, we hate him. As always, if you like what you read, leave me some feedback. I'm conscious most of you are here for the rude stuff so I'll try and weave that in somewhere...

Nicole paced up and down outside the station.

"Waverly, Waverly, slow down, I can't hear what you're saying?"

The officer, dressed in full uniform including stetson, worriedly walked up and down the sidewalk outside the station, holding her cellphone tightly to one ear, a gloved finger stuck in the other one to listen better. Nicole's features were a story of confusion, trying to make out what her girlfriend was hurriedly saying down the fuzzy line with the loud din of background noise making things even more difficult. Nicole shook her head and tried to interrupt the girl on the other end of the line.

"What? What are you... I can't... Wave I can't - " Nicole's attempts to elbow her way into the conversation were ignored. She let out an exasperated huff and carried on listening. As she pressed the phone painfully against her ear for clarity, Nicole was able to make out some of Waverly's garbled sentences and certainly some key words. As the words floated around in her mind for a moment, the officer's face slowly dropped from confusion to something else; her lips pressed together determinedly, and her eyes began to snap into focus. She let Waverly finish her sentence and allowed the call to fall silent. A name reverberated around her head in the silence.

_Champ._

Nicole's demeanour changed as the name bounced around her brain and spilled out of her mouth. "Champ?" She said angrily down the phone, not quite in a whisper as her irritation was overwhelming. She was aware that Waverly had replied but again Nicole struggled to make out what she was saying. But she'd heard enough. Nicole told Waverly not to worry and that they'd speak later, ending the call. As the officer tucked the phone back into the inside pocket of her jacket, she took a moment to mull over how she was going to handle this.

The young redhead had experienced something similar in her younger days. She'd always been a target for those wishing to make themselves feel better about life by upsetting others, particularly because of her hair colour, her direct personality and eventually, her sexuality. Those who took the time to get to know Nicole Haught found out that beyond the cool exterior, she possessed one of the warmest and kindest demeanours you'd ever come across. And Nicole had always been happy to make friends and not shy away from meeting new people, however not everyone was as welcoming or understanding once they knew her dating preferences. When she was young, growing up in a particularly God-fearing state of the country had meant she had to be guarded at times with the information she shared, and more than once she'd come home and stormed up to bed after someone or other had gone out of their way to upset her about being gay. Several times Nicole had hurried past her father or brothers as she raced through the front door, not stopping to talk to them or explain anything for fear of them seeing the tears run down her face as she bolted upstairs. She'd laid on her bed, sobbing into her pillow, using it to muffle the involuntary sounds that her body emitted as she felt so hurt by words which had been flung at her. Nicole's father had let his daughter get on with it - _people just don't understand your type, Nicole_ \- but her brothers had seen what was going on and tried to help. Their sister, always the stubborn one, had rejected their kind offers of assistance as she didn't want to rely on their help. She wanted to sort things herself. But as strong a person Nicole was, though she could take so much, the hurtful comments directed towards her sexuality stung her, despite her resolve to never let them get to her.

Once she'd decided to stop the pretence of dating guys and ultimately follow her heart, her first relationship ended abruptly after her girlfriend's parents banned them from seeing one another again. Nicole had just turned 18 and was filling out her application to become a police officer. She'd been very careful about approaching other girls; subtly and tentatively trying to establish who was looking for more than friendship. At times it was incredibly difficult, as the young redhead was great company and frequently whomever she came into contact with wanted to know her better, and as such Nicole had always had a reasonable group of friends. But as she became more than friends with one girl, someone who she had been talking to for a few weeks, Nicole was saddened to find some of her friends falling away. She'd tried calling them to arrange to go out, bowling or the movies, but she found they weren't around or were busy. Nicole pretended it didn't matter and she was OK with it, and despite the rush of dating someone who actually felt like the right fit, a part of Nicole was crushed by her friends leaving her over something so small.  _I didn't choose to be this way_ , she'd tried to explain to her father, but he waved her away. Her girlfriend was a welcome distraction from law enforcement entry exams and the small-minded folks who verbally abused her in public. Her brothers stood up for her - both girls - but Nicole hated the attention. Her girlfriend's parents had suspected their daughter was 'different', but as good Christian folk, they'd refused to believe she had entered into something more than friendship with her 'good friend' Nicole Haught. 

One Saturday morning, the young Nicole called round to her girlfriend's house which was a mere bus ride away. She pressed the buzzer three times, finally getting a response as her girlfriend's mother came to the door, opening it slightly as she peered out from behind an apron. Nicole had cheerfully asked if she could come in, but she was denied. Confused and hurt, Haught looked up at the front windows of the house, only to see her tearful girlfriend whisked back from the window as if she was being pulled away from it. Nicole didn't need to hear any more from the apron-clad woman at the door, who had many times before welcomed the young redhead into the house as if she was one of their own. Nicole looked her directly in the eye one last time with a steely gaze, and stomped back down the steps onto the street and eventually out of sight. As soon as she'd got off that bus and through her front door, Nicole ran upstairs and threw herself onto her bed, punching into the mattress as she vented her anger, her heart aching like never before. Later that night, as the tears had finally stopped flowing, her elder brother rapped gently on her bedroom door.

"Hey, you know Nicole.... it won't always be like this" He said softly, his voice muffled through the hardwood door. She heard the words but at that moment they provided no solace. She didn't respond to him, and buried her head into her pillow once more. Outside her bedroom on the other side of the door, her brother sat silently outside on the floor for the next three hours.

As she mulled over how she would approach the Champ situation, Nicole's radio crackled into life. She held it to her ear and listened as a call for back up came over the radio waves.  _Damn it_ , she whispered, knowing she'd have to assist. Nicole jogged to her patrol car and jumped in, putting her personal problems aside for the time being as work took precedence. She sighed with irritation as she couldn't deal with the issue she wanted to deal with right now, putting the cruiser into reverse and making her way away from the station and towards the call.

 

 

Waverly had been at Shorty's for several hours. It wasn't particularly busy now, there was the usual smattering of grizzled drinkers dotted around the bar who had stayed on to reach happy hour. None of them would have known how preoccupied Waverly was, as they chugged their way through beer after beer. They wouldn't have seen her panic-stricken face and how she felt like her stomach was falling out of her butt every time the saloon doors opened and someone walked in. She'd spoken to Nicole a little earlier and knew she couldn't keep bugging her whilst she was at work, so she'd put in a call to draft in emergency back up. The saloon doors swung open once more.

"What up" Wynonna gave a gang sign with her fingers as she strode into the bar.

"Thank God you're here" Waverly exhaled, grabbing Wynonna by the wrist as she approached. Wynonna pulled her arm out of Waverly's grasp, and pointed at the whisky behind the bar.

"First things first sis, momma's gots to pay the bills" Wynonna drawled, slapping the bar top with some bills under the flat of her hand. Waverly rolled her eyes and poured a generous measure out into a tumbler for her elder sister. Wynonna downed it in one, swiftly followed by screwing her face up as the warm bourbon burnt the back of her throat. "Another."

Waverly poured another into the empty glass. Wynonna placed her fingers around the drink eagerly, but she flicked her eyes up at Waverly before drinking.

"So what's your deal then, you said something about Champ...?" Wynonna bobbed her head from side to side, trying to gain some clues as she looked at Waverly.

"Yes, Champ," Her sister hissed in reply. She grabbed a cloth from under the bar and scrubbed the top of the bar, somewhat manically.

Wynonna span a discarded beer bottle cap expertly across the varnished wooden bar, watching it rotate quickly before disappearing off the edge. She sipped her whisky.

"I don't really know what to tell you Wave, what's the big deal? So Champ knows. Or he _thinks_ he knows. Champ doesn't know _shit_ about anything."

Waverly narrowed her eyes across the haze of the bar as she observed Wynonna toying with her drink. She shook her head in disagreement. "You don't get it Wynonna. Yes, he thinks he knows what's going on. No, he doesn't really know what's going on. But he has got a big mouth and he _doesn't_ like Nicole."

"Pffft" puffed the elder Earp, in begrudging agreement. Waverly continued.

"I don't know....I'm just not ready for it to be out there" she half-whispered. Wynonna's head tilted sympathetically to the side as she leaned on the bar.

"I know baby girl." Wynonna replied. Waverly looked at her with sad eyes, and stepped around from behind the bar so she could collect empties. She whizzed around the bar on autopilot, smiling absent-mindedly at the drinkers as she collected their glasses and emptied the ashtrays. Her mind was elsewhere, and all she wanted to do was be swept up into the strong, warm arms of her girlfriend, where everything seemed right in the world.

 

The evening wore on and Shorty's began to fill up again, the lure of happy hour bringing warm bodies back into the bar for the long haul. Waverly was an hour or so from the end of her shift; one which she couldn't wait to end. All afternoon she'd waited for Champ to appear at the bar, or even the door, to continue his little game from earlier in the day, but that pleasure had been suspended by his notable absence. Her eyes had started to unfix from the entrance to the bar, and she relaxed a little as the clock ticked nearer the finishing line of her shift.

Wynonna had stayed with her for most of it, but had tumbled out of the door thirty or so minutes earlier, in search of the world's best burrito. Waverly found this amusing as she wasn't sure Purgatory even had anywhere that served Mexican food, but she went with it, and laughed as her sister yelled 'Burritoooo!' as she crashed through the saloon doors.

The barmaid tiredly wiped her brow before tucking a dishcloth into the ties of her apron. Waverly was bushed. After the emotional rollercoaster of earlier, and the manual labour of looking after Shorty's all by herself, the day's events had taken their toll on the young Earp. Waverly's relief behind the bar was due any minute, and she couldn't wait to get out of there. As the wooden saloon doors knocked together once more, Waverly turned to greet whomever had just walked in. As the familiar figure approached, Waverly stood very still.

"There you are" they smiled, weaving their way through the tables, heading to the bar.

Waverly waited for them to come close before she responded, looking from side to side cautiously before talking in a low voice.

"It's good to see you, _really_ good."

It was Nicole. She'd stopped in at Shorty's on her way home, knowing Waverly would be finishing up. She was still in full uniform; her cream stetson in hand as she always removed it indoors, which she considered good manners. Nicole beamed back at the tired-looking barmaid opposite, who, despite her tiredness, looked just perfect.

"Ditto" Nicole replied, taking a stool at the bar. She ran a finger along the surface in front of her, and satisfied it was clean, placed her hat down carefully.

Waverly checked her watch. "I'm meant to be getting off any minute now, just as soon as someone else gets here, wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah okay," the redhead nodded agreeably, "but until then, can I get a drink?"

Waverly fixed a drink for her and they began to engage in friendly chit chat, both acutely aware of how their behaviour may be perceived by the patrons of Shorty's. The truth was, the pair probably could have straddled each other across one of the tables and they wouldn't have read enough into it, as was the drunken state of those who remained to drink. But the two young women spoke quietly to one another, talking through their respective days, and making a mental note that they'd discuss the Champ problem when they were alone and away from the bar. Waverly was so pleased Nicole had turned up to keep her company as the minutes ticked down before clocking off. _That is so like her,_ she thought.

Whoever was supposed to take over Shorty's for Waverly was late. She tutted loudly as she checked her watch for the second time in a minute. Nicole watched her girlfriend begin to fidget.

"I _hate_ it when people aren't punctual." Waverly said dismissively.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Um, like when I was late to yours the other day?"

Waverly flapped her hand, as if to brush off the statement. "That's not what I meant. You _know_ , I just wanna get out of here."

The young Earp felt much more at ease now Officer Haught was with her, the sick feeling in her stomach having gone away, but the tiredness remained. She resigned herself to the fact she'd have to work a little longer, and bent down somewhere behind the bar to bottle up. Nicole craned her neck around the taps to watch as her girlfriend's perfectly-formed behind was a little on display as she bent over. She didn't realise it, but Nicole's lips pursed almost into a pucker as she allowed her eyes to wander over the girl in front of her. It had been a long day, and Waverly Earp was a sight for sore eyes.

Waverly span around quickly and met Nicole's gaze. "See something you like, officer?" She said, playfully.

Nicole took a sip of her drink to stifle whatever naughty thoughts might form themselves into a reply. She nodded and looked her girlfriend up and down, seductively.

Waverly blushed at the attention. Nicole's forwardness always took her by surprise, but nowadays she allowed herself to find it an incredible turn on. Just as she went to speak, she heard loud voices near the entrance to the bar. She cast a worried glance across to Nicole, who also turned around on her stool to see who was about to enter, instinctively placing a hand on the holster at her hip.

The doors were kicked open, and a young man walked in hurriedly, raised voices seemingly following him. It was Anthony, one of Shorty's other barworkers.

"Anthony!!" Waverly shouted across the bar to him, angrily. Anthony was twenty minutes late for his shift and Waverly wanted to leave.

He scuttled over to behind the bar, looking apologetically at the feisty Earp who had her hands on her hips, and her foot tapping furiously.

"S-sorry Waverly, I had problems with my mom again" he said in a quiet voice, looking meekly at Nicole as he spoke.

Waverly didn't continue to take him to task. She knew Anthony's mother had some health issues, and so she wasn't about to rip into him about a mere twenty minutes where she had to work extra. She patted him on the shoulder and smiled back at him reassuringly.

"It's okay, you're here now. I'm gonna take off, 'kay?" She began to untie her apron.

Anthony turned round nervously to look at her. "Um, well... I've got instructions to tell you that you have to take these to the store room," he pointed weakly at a bunch of crates stacked at the back corner behind the bar. "Sorry." he apologised, grimacing.

"Motherfu....." Waverly whispered under her breath, looking in disbelief between Anthony and Nicole, who had heard the request. Anthony shrugged.

Nicole stood up purposefully from her stool and slipped around the bar. "Uh, Waves, let me help you with those" she offered, beginning to unbutton the cuffs of her shirt to roll her sleeves. Waverly wanted to decline just because, but out of the corner of her eye she watched the officer neatly fold the sleeves to her black shirt up over her elbows, her athletic arms flexing against the material as she bent down to pick up one of the crates. Waverly involuntarily licked her lips.

"Where'd you want it?" Nicole said, crate in hand, looking Waverly square in the eye.

 

The door to the store room crashed open, slamming against the wall, and the two women fell into the room, Waverly pushing Nicole up against a stack of boxes.

"I'll show you where I want it" she husked, grabbing at Nicole's belt.

Nicole threw the door closed again, quickly untucking her black police department shirt from her pants, before returning her hands to Waverly, running her hands through her hair as the pair kissed passionately against the squeaky boxes. Waverly leant into the officer and successfully undid her brown belt, moving to work on the top button of her khakis. The store room was a cold, dank room which smelt like damp. It was mainly boxes of chips, buckets and mops, and crates of drinks, piled high out of the way of the bar. The store room had a lock, but it hadn't been used as the pair dropped their crates outside and barged inside, with only one thing on their minds. The light was on but it was a low-watt bulb which buzzed out a dim yellow light, not helped by the dark walls and floor of the grubby room.

Nicole tugged at Waverly to come even closer, a straight leg propped up against the sturdy boxes behind her, the other bending to wrap around her lover. Waverly moaned as she did this, the metal belt buckles on both their pants clanking noisily as they rubbed against one another. Neither had time to laugh, as the petite brunette clumsily pulled at the buttons of Nicole's shirt, needfully trying to thread them back through their holes to open up. Nicole smiled and grabbed Waverly's hands, remembering only too well what had happened before when her girlfriend had tried to get under her shirt quickly.

"Hey hey" she whispered, "take it  _slow_."

Waverly slipped her hands out from Nicole's gentle grip and placed them at the small of Nicole's back, her fingers dancing along the line of the top of Nicole's underwear.

"We need to be quick" Waverly replied in a hushed tone. Both stopped for a moment, their eyes meeting and darting between one another.

Nicole sprung from her position against the boxes and flipped around, pushing Waverly up against the pile and dragging her hands onto the officer's waist. Both moaned with intensity as their hands began to wander again, Waverly's dipping below the back of the loosened police khakis, and Nicole's travelling up the blue vest top of her girlfriend.

The young deputy paused as a hand was about to run over Waverly, the excitement of the situation evident through her flimsy top.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Nicole panted, "Here, I mean? Now?"

Waverly wasn't sure. But she'd had a shitter of a day, and being with Nicole,  _inside_ Nicole, seemed like a really, _really_  good way to cheer herself up. She'd tied herself up in knots all day about what may or may not happen, but as soon as she'd clapped eyes on the starchy Purgatory sheriff's office uniform, she knew she needed a release.

"Yeah well... why, you wanna stop?" Waverly rasped, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"Hell no" came the quick reply.

The young Earp, perched uneasily on the creaky boxes, stuck her hand confidently down the back of the khaki pants, underneath Nicole's underwear and grabbed at the bare skin.

"So fuck me, Nicole."

She was shocked for a moment, but once the request had been processed, Nicole didn't stand on ceremony. She grabbed at the thin straps of Waverly's top and pulled them forcefully down from their loose hold, the top surrendering as she tugged it wantonly down Waverly's body, her fingers working the bra straps down in tandem. Waverly growled at Nicole's forcefulness, and thew her head back in pleasure as Nicole buried her head into Waverly's skin, her lips dragging over a breast and her mouth taking in a nipple. Nicole continued to tease across Waverly's chest as she picked her up around her petite waist and dumped her on top of the stack of boxes, the wooden crates creaking under the relative pressure. Nicole knew her girlfriend enjoyed her shows of strength, so she utilised it as best she could.

Waverly wrapped her slender legs around the uniformed woman in front, bringing her in closer so they were practically as one. Nicole returned to Waverly's half-naked upper half, again sucking gently on Waverly before giving a playful bite.

"Hey!" her victim exclaimed.

"Sssh!" Nicole pressed a finger against Waverly's lips.

Waverly kissed the tip of Nicole's outstretched digit, and fluttered her eyelashes seductively at her, as if Nicole needed any more encouragement. Nicole turned her attention to Waverly's belt, undoing it roughly in haste and quickly pulling down the zipper. Waverly wasn't embarrassed that the front of her soft black underwear was showing a large wet patch, as her girlfriend bent her elbow upwards to leverage entry underneath the cotton gateway to heaven. As Nicole's fingers swept across the sensitive skin beneath her underwear, Waverly gasped and gulped down a lungful of air, her girlfriend knowing just where to touch.

In between her eyes rolling back into her head with pleasure, Waverly threw glances at the store room door she currently faced. It was closed, but not locked.  _Anthony wouldn't dare follow us in here, would he?_ She said to herself, a rhetorical question which fell from her mind as Nicole's hands moved to the top of her jeans to pull them down. Waverly squirmed around to enable her denims to make their way over her hips, and Nicole wasted no time in ripping them off Waverly's legs and throwing them to the floor, as dust flew up in the opposite direction upon impact.

Waverly had never seen Nicole so overcome with desire, her eyes burning with intensity, not stopping for soft kisses or the dimpled smiles she so often gave when in the mood. It made Waverly's heart skip a beat.

The officer's belt hung loose around her pants, the metal buckle clanking against the buttons as her hips ground against Waverly's underwear. Waverly again wrapped her naked legs around Nicole's waist, but before she could get there, the officer hastily started to unbutton her own pants and pulled the tight polyester uniform to the ground as far as it would go, a mound of green-grey fabric bunched on top of her boots which were still on. Nicole continued, quickly unbuttoning the small plastic buttons of her work shirt, before removing it in one swift motion behind her back, exposing the smooth black sports bra she sometimes wore under her uniform. Waverly didn't care that it wasn't something more aesthetically pleasing, and as she leaned forward to press her lips against her girlfriend's once more, she slipped her fingers under the sturdy black straps of the practical underwear and snapped them back so they cracked like a whip across Nicole's back. Nicole flinched with surprise, which made Waverly smile mischievously.

"Waves..." Nicole murmured her name, a feeble attempt at protest.

The redhead lent forward and planted firm, slow kisses on the neck of the girl sat atop the boxes. Waverly's knees gripped against Nicole's body, squeezing with anticipation at what she may do next. Both women were down to underwear, and nothing was going to stop them tumbling into the next phase, as their kissing intensified, each finding the other more irresistible than ever. Overcome with urgency, Nicole grabbed Waverly's hand and led it to the top of her underwear, willing her girlfriend to guide it underneath and work to release the hot, aching sensation between her legs. Waverly was willing and compliant; her relatively small fingers dancing beneath the restriction of elastic and plunging down, the route inside Nicole slippery and warm. She saw her girlfriend's pupils dilate and retract as she widened her eyes in time with Waverly inserting her fingers, a grunt of acknowledgement low and guttural quite involuntary as Waverly dipped in and out. Nicole's hips began to grind against Waverly's hand instinctively, her eyes closing and her head lolling as her body became weak. Waverly's heart beat quickly as she saw the pleasure she was producing, her fingers going deeper as she saw Nicole start to breathe a little deeper. Nicole, eyes still closed, reached up and felt her way up Waverly's other arm, eventually resting her hand to steady herself as she rocked back and forth, her underwear wet through from her girlfriend's handiwork. Waverly smiled triumphantly, feeling Nicole pulse against her from the inside, and the throb against her fingers spurred her to work harder. 

Nicole's eyes snapped open and she gripped Waverly's arm, her mouth gaping, searching for the words.

"W-Wave, I'm - I'm - "

Nicole's body jolted against Waverly, followed by an uncontrolled shiver which quaked against the petite Earp. Both were breathless for a moment, the spent officer releasing her grasp on Waverly's arm, trailing her fingers suggestively across her forearm until she met her hand. Finally, Nicole looked up at her; satisfied, trembling, in love. She was very aware they had gotten away with their sordid tryst in the store room so far, but Nicole didn't want to be the only one with the happy ending before they cut a dash from Shorty's.

"That was...." Nicole breathed, looking for the words.

Waverly kissed her on the lips softly. "Don't mention it" she replied, playfully.

Nicole composed herself, holding up Waverly's wrist to check her watch, then looking back into her pretty features. "Whaddya reckon? We've got time?"

Her girlfriend, still atop the boxes which had creaked and squeaked as the pair had rocked together, swapped Nicole's grip on her wrist and led her hand inside her thigh, nodding in encouragement.

A smirk crept across Nicole's face as she traced her long fingers lazily in circles inside Waverly's thigh, touching as lightly as she could to heighten the anticipation. As her hand crept ever closer to the prize, Waverly's hand snapped downwards to grab her, and stopped Nicole dead. The officer's eyes blew wide in surprise.

"Sssh!" Waverly whispered, holding Nicole still. She bent downwards from her elevated position, placing a silencing finger in the air, cocking her head to the side.

"What?!" Nicole whispered back.

They stood motionless for several seconds, listening out for a sound that never came. The pair turned to face one another.

"Did you hear that?" Waverly mouthed to her girlfriend, both women's faces flushed pink from excitement. Nicole shook her head and frowned in the negative.

They paused for a moment longer, and the silence continued. Nicole brushed the hair away from Waverly's face which had fallen in front of her eyes. "Where were we....?" she smiled.

Waverly tried to settle back into the moment, though her reciprocating smile was slightly nervous. Nicole saw the heat had fallen away slightly from the situation, and tried to reassure her girlfriend through the next few minutes. She leaned forward and upwards, and pressed a kiss on Waverly's cheek tenderly. Waverly liked the tender touch, and resumed her soft grip on her lover's wrist, guiding her hand once more in between her legs. As Nicole's fingers once more danced up in between her thighs, Waverly let out a long, shallow breath and looked adoringly into her girlfriend's chocolate brown eyes. Nicole, as she had done many times before, expertly slipped the tops of her fingers underneath Waverly's lingerie, snaking them down her hips. Waverly felt a shiver go through her body, as the excitement of Nicole Haught's experienced touch brushed against her legs, her underwear being guided down and off. Nicole gave a last look up into the blue-greys she loved, her tongue slipping over her lips, as her face followed where her fingers had just been.

Waverly jerked as she felt Nicole's tongue on her. She smacked her lips together, gripping onto the wooden boxes she was perched on, desperately trying to stifle moans of pleasure. Nicole's fingers gripped around her legs to steady herself as her tongue went inside Waverly, her girlfriend squirming with delight.

"Oh God - " Waverly mumbled, not even aware she had spoken, her head thick and dizzy from the sensation between her legs.

Nicole looked up momentarily to receive her inadvertent praise, flashing her customary dimpled smile up at her helpless girlfriend.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash outside the store room door, accompanied by a thump to the ground which sent shockwaves across the floor, causing Waverly to snap out of her transcendent state of near paradise abruptly. The bottled drinks in their crates clinked against one another in the wake of the noise outside the door.

Nicole spun around to look around at the door, horrified, as Waverly sped to pull her bra back up in the confusion. The shouting continued - indistinct, unintelligible voices - and then stopped just as suddenly as they'd begun.

Nicole slowly returned to look at Waverly, their near-naked bodies illuminated by the dull overhead light of the store room, as deep, deliberate footsteps approached the door and appeared to stop just outside. A telltale shadow filled the ambient light shining under the door, and before either girl could wriggle back into their clothes, the door handle began to turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus wept! Who is it? Anthony? Champ? The sex police?


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coitus interruptus for the WayHaught girls once more, caught in their undercrackers. Who could it be, about to discover them going at it in the store room?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two just can't catch a break can they? Maybe I'll do a one-shot about a dirty weekend away just so there's no flipping interruptions.

Earlier in the evening, Waverly had watched on, amused, as her sister stomped purposefully out of Shorty's into the cold evening air of Purgatory. Wynonna was a woman on a mission. But the mission today wasn't revenants or Wyatt Earp fans, this was something much more important. No, Wynonna was in search of the ultimate burrito.

Fuelled by a good measure of booze which would make many a person immediately horizontal, Wynonna headed out into town to satisfy her craving for Mexican food, her nose twitching with excitement. She wasn't totally sure her hometown actually even had somewhere that served burritos, nevermind the world's best, but the rumble in her stomach and warm liquor energiser told the elder Earp she needed to go out and find her some tortilla goodness.

Wynonna wasn't universally liked in Purgatory, which was probably a mild way of putting it. Notorious and infamous at the same time, her return those weeks ago had caused quite a stir amongst the long-term residents who remembered her when she was young. She'd always been dark and broody, and many people had been taken in by that mysterious look of hers, but as she stalked down the icy sidewalk through town, she observed her fellow residents looking away, not meeting her eyes, and crossing the road to avoid her. She tossed her jet black hair out of her face and shrugged. Wynonna didn't care too much about these folk anyway.

She'd had an idea. She'd seen Dolls come back to the station with some kind of foil-wrapped foodstuff before now, so she wracked her brains as to where he'd gotten his hands on such a rare delicacy in these parts. She stopped still suddenly, as if requiring the extra energy from walking to transfer into brainpower, and bounced her finger on her lips quizzically. She slipped her cellphone from her backpocket and brought up the internet, looking for ideas on where to find the holy grail of dinners. Several minutes passed until a voice called out to her in the gloom, from across the road.

"Hope you're not thinking of me, babycakes?"

Wynonna's lip curled, disturbed by this blatant flirt which wasn't invited. She turned slowly to see who had the audacity to try and chat her up from the other side of the road. She squinted in the darkness, unable to quite make out who it was, and what  _the_ _fuck_ they thought they were doing.

"Who is that?" She replied loudly, irritated.

"Oh man, I'm offended!" Came the reply, as a young man stepped into the streetlight. Wynonna's tense shoulders dropped and she rolled her eyes.

"Champ, stop being a moron and get out of the road."

He skipped across the street to join Wynonna on the sidewalk, a broad grin on his face. Wynonna's face grimaced as she looked him up and down. She'd only just managed to pretend to be into him that day she returned to Purgatory, putting her fake seduction skills to the test as she probed him for information. It was just lucky that Waverly had burst in with the shotgun as the thought of spending another minute straddled on to of him was plain revolting. As much as she adored her baby sister, she just couldn't work out what she ever saw in Champ Hardy.

"Hey Wynonna, lookin' good... " he grinned with a wink.

"Go fuck yourself, Champ."

He laughed, pretending to be hurt by her reply. "Well well, that's not very nice! You know, you should be nicer to me... all you Earp girls... yep, you should definitely be good to me." His eyes were cold and meaningless.

Wynonna puffed her cheeks and nodded, licking her lips before formulating her reply. "And why's that, Champ?" the 'p' popping at the end of her over-pronounced sentence.

Champ shrugged sarcastically.

Wynonna drew close to him, her whisky-fuelled breath hot on his face. She was just as tall as Champ, maybe even a half inch taller, despite wearing flat boots. A finger with black nail polish found its way to the end of his nose, and his eyes crossed downwards as he tried to focus on it. She gritted her teeth together and spoke tersely.

"You think you know something Hardy? You think you know? Let me tell you: You don't know what the hell you're talking about, 'kay? And if I catch you upsetting Waverly again, I'm gonna kick your ass so bad, you'll need a finance arrangement at the dentist. And you're lucky boy, I know a good dentist."

Champ stepped backwards from Wynonna's snarling face and pushed her accusatory finger away. He tried desperately to seem unaffected by her intimidation, but his voice cracked slightly and his eyes looked suddenly awake.

"I don't care Wynonna, she shoulda thought this might happen before she carried on with Officer 'hot'," Champ flicked his fingers in mock air quotes. "She damn near told me herself this mornin'. Two girls, gettin' it on. It's disgusting." He spat.

Wynonna smiled a rueful smile and looked down to the ground, her hands curling tightly into a ball. _You're disgusting,_ she thought. Wynonna waited to see if he would continue.

"And - and - it's not like I care, or anything, I just think people shouldn't be so secretive, y'know?" He narrowed his eyes, testing the woman opposite to see how she'd react. Champ's words had started to eat at Wynonna, and she felt her irritation boil inside.

"Yeah, sounds like you don't care, Champ!" She responded with a sarcastic smile, thinly veiled.

Champ ran his hand through his hair and rolled his eyes. He thought back to the day Wynonna returned to Purgatory, how she'd leapt on him on the bed and tried to seduce him. She looked all kinds of hot, legs either side of him, her long brown hair dangling around her shoulders seductively. Before she pulled a knife on him.

"Y'know... " he looked the dark-haired Earp up and down, "we could've made it work, I reckon."

Wynonna's nose screwed up as she scoffed. "We? Make what work? As in...? Ugh Champ  _please_ , I haven't eaten yet."

Champ's face dropped as he felt the comment bite. He'd always found Waverly's older sister sexy and, given half a chance, if one Earp wouldn't, he'd try damn hard to see if the other would. He watched as Wynonna adjusted the long pistol in its holster on her hip, before he broke into a smile.

"So that was a no, huh?"

"You think?" Wynonna replied, eyebrows raised.

He rubbed his nose and tutted to himself, just as the woman opposite spun on her heels to start back down the street. She'd got a few paces away before Champ yelled after her.

"Your sister being into _her_ ," he called out loudly, his voice raspy; "I reckon she must have a thing for that uniform. Yeah, I'll bet that uniform just drives her wild." 

"It's none. Of your. Goddamn. Business." Wynonna turned and growled aggressively at him, the cold wind blowing the curl in her hair.

Champ snorted. "Pffft, whatever Earp, can't guarantee I'll say nothin'. I'm outta here."

Wynonna watched on as Champ turned away from her and lazily swaggered back down the street, not daring to look back to see her angry scowl. She wasn't about to rise to his bait, but she was still worried what he might do, seemingly hell-bent on hurting his ex-girlfriend. She did believe that relationships should be settled by the individuals involved only, and how Waverly and Nicole handled the whys and wherefores of this situation should be down to them. But Wynonna wasn't about to bail on her little sister like she had done so easily before; this time Wynonna was going to use every ounce to protect her from danger, in whatever guise that took. She looked back at the sorry figure heading away from her, and considered for a moment whether she should go after him. She agonised for a minute or so, until she reluctantly felt this wasn't a battle she should be fighting quite yet. If Waverly needed her to, she'd be there for her in a heartbeat.

Champ shuffled out of sight and Wynonna hadn't moved from the spot. She felt sick and irritated by the exchange with Waverly's ex-boyfriend, and it only served to make her want to beat the crap out of him. Anger clouded her judgement, and she could barely remember why she was at this end of town in the first place, until the deep recesses of her stomach let out a grumble which was on par with a thunderclap.

"Oh  _yeah_ " Wynonna remembered, patting her stomach, as she started to stride again back up the sidewalk.

 

Anthony was circling around the bar at Shorty's, picking up empty beer bottles and glasses as he went. Anthony wasn't such an interesting prospect to the drinkers in Shorty's as Waverly was, for obvious reasons, as well as generally just not being that sociable. He worked behind the bar almost by default, and if jobs were more plentiful in Purgatory, he would have chosen to never step foot in there.

As he navigated around the small tables scattered around the bar, weaving in and out of the rowdy regulars and moustachioed men guzzling beer, he was vaguely aware of the doors opening and another regular walking in. 

"Hey Anthony"

"Hey Champ."

Anthony went back to negotiating around the inebriated patrons and thought nothing more of the exchange. Champ Hardy was in Shorty's every other day in some capacity or other, whether it was behind the bar or in front of the bar, drinking it dry. He was a beer drinker primarily, as all the Hardy sons had been brought up to, but he'd tried to adjust his tastes in the early stages of his relationship with Waverly, even taking to drinking wine and bubbles when the occasion called for it. He hadn't really enjoyed wine -  _it's for girls_ \- but he'd enjoyed seeing how it affected his girlfriend at the time. Waverly after a couple of glasses of sauvignon blanc went from hot to hotter, and he liked how it made her act.

On this occasion, he was planning on drinking beer. In a few steps, Champ was at the bar, a shiver ran through him as the warmth of the inside conflicted with the immense cold from his walk to the bar. He unbuttoned his jacket and threw it over a stool, before his eyes began to run across the shiny wooden bar top across from him.

"What the....?" He murmured under his breath.

Across the bar, a familiar-looking cream stetson hat sat upright, proudly displaying its Purgatory Police Department badge. Champ sat down slowly on his bar stool, turning to look over each shoulder shiftily to ensure no-one was watching him. Anthony returned to his station behind the taps and slid a bottle of beer across to the young man sat at the bar, stopping only to wrench off the bottle top before doing so. Champ pressed two fingers to his forehead in an informal half-salute and swigged at the icy beer.

 _Well well well,_ he thought,  _things just got interesting._

"Hey man," Champ called over to Anthony behind the bar, "that there hat, does that belong to... y'know, that officer lady?"

Anthony whirled round and looked at the smart wide-brimmed hat, which looked out of place just sat atop the bar. "Uh, I guess so? She was here a minute ago..." Anthony continued to look around, his eyes searching for someone who wasn't there. He continued.

"She was here to see Waverly I think" he said, innocently.

Champ's eyes widened. "Is that right?" He grinned, taking a chug of beer, his elbows resting on the bar top. Anthony shrugged, as he often did.

A few swigs later, and Champ's drink was empty. He banged the bottle down loudly on the bar and whistled at Anthony; a shrill high-pitched whistle like a handler does to a sheep dog. As Anthony looked over, eyes narrowed with irritation, Champ pointed at his empty beer. Anthony sighed and passed another across to him, as Champ pulled some screwed-up bills from his jeans and let them fall from from his hand in a ball next to his empty bottle.

As he dragged on his drink, Champ's eyes followed Anthony as he watched him go back on his round of collecting empties. Champ looked back at the stetson on the bar, before quickly dismounting from his stool and rounding the bar before anyone could see or protest. He looked back over his shoulder as he disappeared out to the back, treading carefully to dodge the bags of trash and empty crates littered in the dimly-lit passageway that led to the back rooms. Champ's breathing became shallow as he listened out for any sounds of the deputy officer or anyone else out back. As he weaved in between two mousetraps lying near the emergency exit doorway, he strained to listen out for voices. Anthony had confirmed Haught had come to the bar to see Waverly, and even Champ knew it was highly unlikely she would have left without taking her big stupid hat with her. As he stood still for a moment, making as little noise as he could, Champ cocked his head as he started to make out some muffled sounds coming from the direction of the store room. His brow furrowed as he couldn't quite put his finger on whether it was voices or something else, and the sound came and went very quietly. He crept towards the door to the store room, and looked down at two crates of beer, sat on the floor side by side.

As he stood listening, Champ began to feel something brush against his hand, almost like a tickle. He slowly looked down in the near-darkness to see what it was, and to his horror it was a large harvest spider, with long black legs and two very visible eyes staring back at him as it rested across his knuckles. Champ's heart leapt into his mouth and he flicked his arm out frantically, his body jerking and twisting instinctively with fright. The spider flew off his hand but as Champ jumped, his foot caught a wooden broom, knocking it over so the handle made a loud 'clank' on the floor. Champ's eyes enlarged and he didn't dare move, the noisy broom laying flat along the ground next to his feet.

 _Goddamn it_ , Champ whispered to himself. In the shadows of Shorty's corridor out back, Champ was frozen to the spot for fear of giving the game away, after making such good work to sneak out without being seen. He'd convinced himself that the rookie cop was out here somewhere,  _and I'll bet Waverly is too_ , he said to himself. As a moment or two passed, the spider crawled under the emergency exit door to his right, and Champ was confident no-one was about to discover him creeping around. He moved again in the direction of the store room door, this time on tip-toe, bending down slowly to try and peep through the lock. As he bent to look, he heard a distinctively feminine tone through the door - but Champ couldn't work out what kind of a sound it was. It wasn't one  _he'd_ ever heard before. He pressed his head close to the wooden door of the store room, his eyes level with the lock, as his eyelashes almost touched the metal trim.

"Whatcha doin'?" Came the voice from behind.

Champ spun around quickly, looking up from his bent spying position to see Wynonna Earp stood opposite in the shadows behind him, feet planted firmly on the floor and her hands either side. She looked furious.

"I - I - " Champ stuttered.

Wynonna took one pace forward and flashed a quick, strong punch to Champ's face, her knuckles connecting with his left cheekbone. It made a resounding crack as the blow landed, and Wynonna stood over him ready to deliver another, as his dazed body crumpled to the ground. He let out a long, deep moan in pain, falling to his knees in front of her.

"You made. Me miss. My God. Damn. Dinner" Wynonna spat, landing another thunderous blow to the same spot, this time her fist knocking into his nose, immediately causing it to bleed. A flow of deep, thick blood streamed from Champ's nostril as he fell backwards onto the floor from his knees. It wasn't quite a knockout, but he wasn't getting up anytime soon.

Wynonna bent down and grabbed the sorry sight by the folds in his shirt at the front, dragging him upright so she could look into his eyes.

"Messed with the wrong girl again, didn't you, boy?" She whispered, a slight fleck of spit accidentally landing in his eye. Wynonna enjoyed it.

Champ's eyes rolled around in his head, dazed and confused. Wynonna was ready to give him the beating of his life; her slim fingers ready screwed up into fists, the blood pumping quickly through her veins, the adrenaline and booze making a heady mix of excitement and confidence. But this wasn't a fair fight. She dragged Champ up to his feet, his knees buckling underneath him, and put his arm around her to support him as he stood. Champ's eyes lolled groggily in the direction of Wynonna's face, as he attempted to put some words together. The Earp heir 'ssshed' him and pulled him towards the emergency exit, his feet dragging wearily on the dusty floor.

"This was fun," Wynonna whispered, bringing her face close to his; "pull this shit again and I'll beat your ass so bad - "

"I won't" Champ slurred, his voice thick as if he'd gone ten rounds.

"Good. Now fuck off" Wynonna pushed the emergency exit door open with her free hand, and pulled Champ around with the other, guiding him through the open doorway and allowing him to fall over onto the ground outside. The cold wind blew in as Wynonna tugged the door shut again, quietly clicking it closed as Champ laid motionless on the icy concrete the other side. She swiped her hands together at a job well done, and turned to pick up Nicole's stetson which she had brought with her out to the back.

Wynonna turned the handle to the store room and creaked the door open so it was slightly ajar. There wasn't much light inside, but as Wynonna slipped her head through the crack between the door and the frame, her eyes met with Waverly and Nicole.

"Oh hey" Said Wynonna, casually.

Nicole had flung her black shirt around Wynonna's naked sister, who was curled tightly into a ball on top of a stack of boxes. Nicole was stood with her pants around her ankles, and stripped to her racing-back sports bra.

"Heyyyyy" Nicole replied, clearly embarrassed. She'd turned her head to see the door opening, and the rest of her tall frame was facing back at Waverly. Waverly looked mortified.

"Yep. Well.... this is suitably awkward." Wynonna feigned a smile, still only her head visible through the crack in the door, as if it was floating.

Waverly still didn't make a sound, curled under the relative safety of the PPD issue shirt covering her modesty. Nicole again responded.

"We uh....I mean, we...." 

Wynonna nodded in understanding. "Yeah, you guys, um...."

"Yeah we....."

Silence.

"So I got your  _hat_ " Wynonna changed the subject, still clinging on to the cream stetson the other side of the door. She smiled awkwardly.

"That is  _good news_ " Nicole breathed, trying to make the best of the incredibly embarrassing situation they'd found themselves in. She took the opportunity to bend down and pull her pants back up, quickly buttoning them secure.

Wynonna's head withdrew from the crack in the door momentarily, only for the stetson to appear through the gap, which Wynonna then threw like a frisbee across the store room. Nicole caught the brim as it flew towards her. Wynonna popped her head back through and seemed impressed at the officer's catch. She smiled and narrowed her eyes.

"You've done that before." She raised an eyebrow.

"This isn't my first rodeo." Nicole winked back, placing the hat cocked downwards and to one side on her head.

Waverly had mustered herself to speak. "W-what the hell was that noise, Wynonna? Outside?"

Her sister gave a little shake of the head and screwed up her nose indifferently. "You've seen the mousetraps, right?" she smiled; "It was a dirty great rat."

With that, Wynonna winked knowingly at the pair, and retired back through the gap and out into the corridor again. She grinned to herself as she slowly pulled the door closed for good, pulling one of the beer crates across the floor and up against it for security.

"You two are adorable!" She stage-whispered back to them, her voice obscured as it travelled through the wooden barrier of the door.

_Now where is that goddamn burrito._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeez, I want a burrito now. It's 12.30am and I really should have gone to bed hours ago, so apologies for any typos or dodgy grammar. What did you think of this chapter, any good? I know there wasn't much WayHaught but hey, Champ got his ass whooped. (You have to imagine me in a fairly well-spoken English accent saying 'ass whooped' - frankly it's ridiculous.)


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Champ's been taught his lesson but it doesn't take away from the fact that, sometime, Waverly and Nicole's relationship can't always be a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seventeen chapters! Sheesh. This one's a bit on the short side. Anyway, I'm feeling totes emosh about this chapter guys. Hope you like it.

Wynonna had never been a popular figure around the sleepy town of Purgatory; too many people remembered the scrapes she'd gotten into as a teenager, wreaking havoc wherever she went, upsetting all who crossed her path. But her popularity had taken another nosedive when news spread across town that she'd given Champ Hardy a beating. The truth was, it wasn't even  _close_ to a beating. She'd just given him a little tickle.

Champ had lain low in the week that ensued the confrontation in the back of Shorty's, as the bruise around his eye and across his cheekbone went from dark purple, to dark red, to a gross yellow. Wynonna's physical intervention to his spying meant the message had finally been received; it wasn't his place to let the good people of Purgatory know that Waverly Earp, eye candy for so many, had entered into a relationship with the new female police officer. He'd seen Waverly once or twice around town, peering over at her with one swollen eye, Waverly having pretended not to have seen him. He'd also seen Wynonna - only once - but he didn't hang around long enough to note if she was pretending to see him or not. And so it went like that for several days, Wynonna stalking around the town as she so often did, no-one daring to get in her bad books.

The week had gone quietly for that reason, and both Waverly and Nicole appreciated the respite, after all the craziness they'd experienced recently. It had allowed them to focus on the things that kept them stable: the semblance of normality of friends, work, chores. Things seemed to have settled down for a short while, and both girls had expressed their relief over the course of the week.

Nicole's shift had rolled around to its conclusion, which couldn't come quick enough as she finally had two consecutive days off to relax and unwind. Mentally she'd mapped out what she needed to achieve in the two days; well-overdue laundry, pick up the dry cleaning, finally unpack the one box in her closet that was still unopened from when she moved, and a few other bits and pieces if she had the time. The young officer also intended to make the time to catch up on some correspondence, maybe try speaking to her dad, and Nicole would consider this successful if he picked up the phone. She'd made the same promise to herself for the last six weeks. But all of that would have to wait, because now Nicole had finally reached the end of the seemingly endless shift pattern, she'd allowed herself a reward for her patience.

The quick knock at the door alerted Nicole that Waverly had arrived. There was no peeking out from behind the curtains today, no anxiously waiting as to whether or not Waverly would appear, all of the insecurities and anxieties had somehow melted away. The knock at the door still made her heart flutter however, that same excitement at knowing her girlfriend was separated only by a door, the very same as when she'd step into Shorty's and see her crush behind the bar those months ago. The young rookie dried her hands on a cloth and hung it loosely over the rail across the front of her cooker, before striding around from her kitchen over to the front door. She checked the spyhole and, with contented smile, flung the door open.

"I brought wine!" Waverly beamed as she held up a bottle in one hand and a paper bag of snacks in the other.

Nicole stepped to the side and ushered her in; Waverly was happy to oblige, brushing past with a flash of her pearly whites.

"That's what we need - more wine," Nicole joked, rubbing her temples and thinking back to the other two nights this week where they'd sunk a couple of bottles. There was the familiar *plonk* of glass being placed on wood, as Waverly had already settled onto the couch and began to unpack the brown paper bag she'd brought with her. She was dressed casually; her usual high-waisted denims, a comfy white sweater and her customary boots with furry trim. Nicole had barely even closed the door by the time Waverly had kicked off her boots and snuggled into the corner of the couch, wriggling her legs underneath herself as she so often did.

"Make yourself comfortable why don't you!" Nicole said sarcastically, throwing her arms up, pretending to be affronted.

Waverly screwed her face up, closing her eyes into an adorable smile that was the only reply she needed to give. Nicole allowed herself a snigger as she stood in the middle of the room, hands on hips.

That evening they'd arranged to stay in at Nicole's place; a safe haven from prying eyes, but also a very easy option for two young individuals who didn't have an endless supply of disposable income. Waverly had suggested it originally, as an opportunity to avoid Wynonna and her never-ending recanting of 'the time she gave Champ a whoopin'. It was fun the first two or three times, but versions had been greatly exaggerated and now she just wanted to forget the whole episode. Nicole was happy to accommodate an evening in at her place, at heart she'd always take a comfortable night alone with the woman she'd fallen for, over fighting to hear themselves think in a public place.

"Can you grab some glasses?" Waverly said loudly, as Nicole had gone back into her little kitchen area. There was a resounding *clink* sound and Nicole returned into the living room, holding up two large wine glasses in one hand.

"You read my mind" She replied with a knowing smile.

 

The two young women settled in for the evening. The TV had gone on, programmes flicked through, and the wine drunk slowly and conservatively. The temperature had dropped a few degrees and the pair had snuggled into one another ostensibly for warmth, but mainly they enjoyed the comfortable intimacy of being in free close proximity to one another. Nicole had patiently waited through her long, tiring shift, looking forward to being able to spend precious hours with Waverly, just the two of them. She had slouched into the deep, comfortable cushions of the couch, one leg tucked underneath her, one arm slung around her girlfriend. Waverly distractedly traced her fingers lightly around Nicole's thigh as the television flashed brightly back at them, programme after programme. They hadn't watched anything in particular and neither was bothered - they just wanted to be together, with one another, and not have to think about anything.

Nicole's gaze wandered down to Waverly's head leaning into her chest, brushing her hair lightly and planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. It was heaven.

"Mmmm?" Waverly murmured, vaguely aware of her surroundings.

"Hey, you OK down there?"

Waverly propped herself up to look at Nicole, her eyes tired but warm. "All good here Officer," she smiled, before letting out a yawn.

Nicole checked the clock on the wall. It wasn't even ten. She looked over at the television as commercials churned across the screen mindlessly, and her mind began to wander. Questions that had been pushed to the back of her mind in the last few days now finding their way to the surface.

"Wave," Nicole said softly, pressing the mute button on the TV remote and pausing a moment, "do you remember when we first went to Shorty's?"

Waverly looked back at the redhead, her eyes flickered quizzically, a tic she couldn't control. "Umm...when we first met?"

"No," Nicole smiled at the recollection, "when we went out that time? Kind of our first date?"

"Ohhhh! Of course I remember" Came the reply, as Waverly flapped her hand knowingly.

The young deputy shuffled a little on the couch as she looked to position her next sentence. Waverly looked on, intrigued.

"Why did you agree to go out with me?" Nicole asked, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

Waverly sat upright, cross-legged on the couch, and reached over to pull Nicole's fingers down into her hand. "Hey, what's brought on this question?"

Nicole looked across to the television and then back at her girlfriend, the screen silent but flashing brightly in the background. She smiled a coquettish smile and looked down at the small, warm hand in her own.

"I don't know..." she started, "...I guess I'm just interested in why you said yes. I mean, did you realise I was asking you on a date?"

"Uh, I'm not stupid Nicole." Waverly flicked Nicole's arm. She thought this would make her girlfriend laugh, but when the laugh didn't come, she angled her head sideways to catch Nicole's gaze, trying to gauge where this questioning was coming from.

"I'm not stupid," Waverly repeated, "but I also didn't know what was going to come of it. Genuinely."

Nicole looked up at her. "But, you're happy? I mean, with how things turned out?"

The young woman sat opposite, perched on the couch, raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Waverly moistened her lips to reply, but stopped herself a moment. After a moment's reflection, she began once more, gripping her girlfriend's hand tightly and leaning closer to her.

"Are you really asking me this question? Am I  _happy_ with how things turned out? Nicole....." Waverly looked down and shook her head, her voice trailing.

Nicole's heart leapt into her mouth. She knew she'd asked a dumb question. She immediately wished she'd never even opened her mouth. Waverly looked back up at her and bounced her hand on her knee.

"I can't remember a time when I've  _ever_ been as happy.  _Ever_. And....the fact you even have to ask that....?"

Waverly stared into the clear brown eyes of the woman next to her. She was incredulous at Nicole even having to  _ask_ that type of question, to even wonder if the girl who spent nearly every waking moment thinking of her, and when she wasn't awake, dreaming of her, was happy. It made her a little mad to think Nicole would have any doubts over it. Waverly's expression turned to a slight frown as unanswered questions began to rau through her mind, filling the silence as Nicole went to reply.

"Oh Wave, I-I didn't mean..." Nicole took both Waverly's hands in her own and tutted at her own stupidity, "...I didn't mean I don't know. I guess what I'm trying to say is...."

Waverly's heart beat a little quicker waiting for her girlfriend to finish her sentence.

"....is this going to be enough for you? I mean, as in us. Am  _I_ going to be enough for you?"

Nicole felt her heart thump loudly through her clothes. For several seconds, neither dared to speak. The silence was deafening. The television flashed bright colours across the screen in complete noiselessness, but it could not distract the two women from each other in the pregnant pause.

Nicole looked nervously at Waverly, awaiting her response. As they continued to hold each other's gaze, the pretty blue-grey eyes that Nicole loved so, inexplicably began to fill.

"You know," Waverly's voice trembled, as she patted the top of Nicole's hand, "I think.....I think you just might be."

She smiled at the redhead with eyes welled. Nicole felt her heart pumping stronger than before, thudding noisily beneath her chest as if it were amplified by speakers. Waverly placed her palm on top of Nicole's hand. It was a small, given-without-thought gesture, but the officer appreciated the reassuring touch more than Waverly would know.

Waverly let out a deep breath and continued.

"But....what's brought this on?"

The redhead paused a moment to try and make sense of the jumbled words floating around in her head, so she could best articulate to her girlfriend the reasons for her line of questioning. She looked up at Waverly with an expression of seriousness.

"Wave, I'd never ask you to do something you didn't want to do. I'd never ask you to be someone you're not comfortable being."

Waverly tilted her head to the side with a smile. "I know," she replied, soothingly, rubbing her hand on Nicole's. Nicole continued.

"I guess I'm just conscious - I mean I've been thinking about - us, and who knows about us being together. And this whole  _Champ thing_ has made me realise that you're not ready for people to know about us, and that's okay Waverly - it's okay - because I don't want you to feel uncomfortable in any way..."

Waverly listened intently.

"So I think what I'm getting at is," Nicole shifted face on to Waverly, "being with you is....is..... more than.... Jesus, I can't even describe it - "

"And I feel the same" Waverly interrupted. Nicole smiled warmly.

"So I just don't want you to feel like you owe anyone anything. And if you're not ready for people to know about us, I'm completely cool with it."

Waverly's eyes were still glistening. Her eyebrows tilted upwards and her lips came together, pouting into a sideways smile; Nicole's heartfelt words enveloped her like a beam of radiance which warmed her being.

"Nicole - " Waverly started.

"Because I don't want you to feel like we're rushing things, or, or, just because I'm.....you know.....I don't want you to think you have to.... you know - "

"Nicole...." She tried again.

"....and we don't even have to tell anyone, I mean obviously Wynonna knows, but this is  _our_ thing, us, no-one else - "

"Nicole!" Waverly interrupted loudly, squeezing her girlfriend's hand. Nicole snapped into focus, unaware Waverly had been trying to edge into the conversation. "You don't have to worry about it."

"I don't?"

"No," Waverly leaned forward and pecked her on the lips, "but you are  _super_ cute though."

The young deputy was confused, and her brow furrowed as Waverly grinned. Nicole was ready with a whole impassioned speech about how they didn't have to put a label on their relationship, how Waverly could take as much time as she needed to make sense of their being together, which was new, exciting and unexpected. How she understood, better than most, how scary it could be - even in this day in age - to let the world know they were in a same-sex relationship, which shouldn't matter an iota, and to be prepared for folks to not understand or take the time to understand. She wanted to tell Waverly that they didn't have to walk down the street hand in hand if it made her uncomfortable, they didn't have to do anything, until she was ready, until it was time, until any insecurities which she may have, had moved on. Maybe they never would, and sometimes they didn't. Nicole shook her head.

"I don't get it...?" Her soft southern twang crept out unintentionally.

Waverly combed her fingers through her own, caramel-coloured tresses, and looked back at Nicole, her eyes darting between both deep brown irises.

"Seriously, I  _love_ how considerate you are, and how much you are worried about this - "

"I'm not worried - " Nicole interrupted, in trying to get her point across. Waverly steeped her hand to stop her.

"Okay, sorry, not _worried,_ but.... how much you've thought about this, how much you care. Of course I have too, sometimes it's  _all_ I can think about," Waverly cleared her throat, "which is why I've come to a decision."

Nicole raised an eyebrow as her girlfriend continued.

"I'm not really interested in whether the people of this town, or any town, have an opinion on who I choose to date," Waverly's voice cracked a little, "because all I'm interested in, all that matters to me, is...... is being with you."

Nicole's face brightened and she leaned forward to draw Waverly close to her, wrapping both arms around the smaller woman in a gentle squeeze, as Waverly dug her head underneath Nicole's chin lovingly. Waverly screwed her eyes closed, a single tear overflowing and snaking down her cheek. Both exhaled a deep, meaningful breath.

"I don't want to rush you into anything though Wave."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure we slept together after our first date. Yep, yep we did, twice in fact," Waverly giggled, holding two fingers together. Nicole nodded in agreement and smiled in concession.

"Okay, there's that...." Nicole said agreeably, "...what I really meant was - "

"I know what you meant," the young Earp interjected, "you're talking about us. Being....out there. Out out." Waverly paused and shrugged her shoulders beneath Nicole's firm hug. "I'm not even giving it a second thought now Nicole, because.... you're all I need."

Nicole's heart soared with the words that now seemed to come so easily. It seemed like an age since she admired Waverly from afar, feebly trying to suppress her feelings for the feisty young woman she'd sought out in Shorty's bar, daydreaming that they could be together, hoping and wishing _she_ was the one Waverly came home to, never letting herself believe it would one day happen. She'd felt things for other girls before now, something similar but a diluted version; she knew that this was completely different and she didn't ever want it to go away.

"Where have you been, Waverly Earp?" Nicole whispered, squeezing Waverly tighter into the embrace. Waverly let out a laugh, half-disguised with a sob of happiness. The redhead planted a gentle kiss on the head which was nuzzled into her.

"Lord knows," her girlfriend replied quietly.

Waverly continued to let herself be wrapped in Nicole's strong embrace, the familiar, natural, warm scent of her girlfriend enveloping her, giving her a secure feeling she didn't think she'd ever experienced before. A deep, contented breath escaped her lips again as she tightly hugged back. _I don't want this to ever end_ , Waverly thought.

As Nicole shifted around on the couch, the television remote sunk beneath her backside, and as the officer adjusted into a more comfortable position, she accidentally pressed the remote's volume button with her behind, sending the television skyrocketing in decibels. Waverly leapt up with the noise, and clapped her hands over her ears.

"Jesus Nicole!" She yelled, frowning at the blaring television.

"What the fuck?!" The redhead jumped up quickly, her hand trailing underneath her, searching desperately for the remote, the bringer of noise. Eventually she located the sneaky black plastic device, and she jammed her fingers hard against the volume button until the television reached a quiet murmur. Nicole threw the remote into the small, fabric armchair in the corner next to the television. It bounced against the back of the chair and fell onto the floor.

"Darn remote" Nicole tutted, her accent slipping again.

"Um, how 'bout your damn butt?" Waverly protested.

"Um," Nicole parroted, hitting her with a small cushion, "how about you not talk about my butt?"

Waverly laughed and stood up from the couch, so she could head over to the kitchen. As she made her way to the refrigerator, Nicole's eyes followed her petite form every step, drinking in every aspect of Waverly for fear of not having enough. Waverly pulled open the door of the cooler and stuck her head in.

"You want the bad news, or the bad news?" She yelled back, her head almost in the middle of the refrigerator.

"Pffft," Nicole huffed, "I guess it's the bad news...?"

Waverly threw the door closed and walked slowly around the corner of the kitchenette, coming to a stop at the corner. She folded her arms, and her face took on a serious expression.

"Don't say it," Nicole started to rise from the couch, "I think I know what you're going to say."

Waverly nodded gravely and looked down at her feet.

"It's bad Nicole."

The redhead slumped back down onto the couch. She looked up to Waverly and nodded in understanding, before formulating her reply.

"We're out of wine?"

"Bingo!" Waverly replied with a laugh.

Nicole patted the couch cushion next to her invitingly, and Waverly skipped back across the living room before jumping into the empty space next to her. She sat upright on the couch, cross-legged once more, and pulled the young officer into her for a cuddle, which she enthusiastically obliged. Nicole was powerless to say no.

They returned to watching the television, safe in the ease of one another, content to sit entwined in each others arms, untroubled and without need for conversation. Waverly was tired and attempted to stifle a yawn, and as she looked across to Nicole, her girlfriend had drifted off to sleep in the safety of Waverly's embrace. Waverly smiled contentedly at the beautiful young woman who looked so peaceful next to her on the couch, wondering what Nicole could be thinking, what must she be dreaming. But she didn't need to wonder about what Nicole Haught was dreaming about in her sleep, because whether she was awake or not, it was always Waverly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A voila. Feedback welcome! This wasn't as long a chapter as I'd hoped but I've been a bit short on time.


End file.
